National Crime Agency (NCA) staff in Calais had only two days of official training before covering for striking Border Force staff. Border Force guards have three weeks training before interacting with the public, and then they work alongside a mentor for up to a month to ensure they can work solo checking on crimes like carrying a false passport, drug smuggling, people trafficking and modern slavery. An informed source said NCA staff had two training days, a quick familiarisation visit on Tuesday and then protecting the borders on Wednesday. They had no training to issue an IS81 form that gives officers the authority to detain people while they carry out further inquiries. It has to be issued even if someone is detained for just two minutes for a minor check. They did not have the power to detain people suspected of criminal activity.
Strike cover staff had two days’ training
Written by David Fletcher 02 Feb 2023Additional Info
- Pray: for ongoing training to equip staff to recognise illegal activities and arrest criminals. (Psalm 94:1)
- More: www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/feb/01/border-force-strike-covering-staff-report-receiving-just-two-days-training