Thousands of foreign criminals go under the radar

Thousands of foreign criminals go under the radar as checks are bypassed during Covid, according to a new report.

During the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, many immigration controls that are normally carried out in person have been performed over the phone. According to a new report, around 70,000 foreign criminals were not properly checked.

According to Migration Watch UK, the tracking of illegal immigrants and foreign criminals was not performed properly in many cases during the pandemic. Reportedly only 11,000 out of 80,000 high-risk people were contacted in person for checks to be carried out.

The report stated: “The majority of individuals currently required to report are those whom the Home Office considers present the greatest potential risk of causing harm to UK society, often foreign national offenders with previous convictions in the UK.”

The chief inspector for Migration Watch UK David Neal has revealed that there is “very little evidence” of “proactive questioning and recording of a significant change in a reportee’s personal circumstances.”

He commented that the: “general proactive collection of information from the reportees was minimal”.

It is vital for changes of address and other details to be recorded. If a person re-offends then this data could prove crucial.

The watchdog believes that the public in the UK could be put at risk due to the “minimal” checks that are being carried out.

Charles Hymas for The Telegraph believes that possible re-offenders could sneak under the Home Office’s radar while they live in the UK.

The chairman of Migration Watch UK, Alp Mehmet commented: “This inspection report finds that the Home Office has given up on keeping proper track of at least 70,000 immigration offenders.

“What is more worrying is that inspectors say many in the reporting population represent a great potential risk.

“The Government’s claims to be getting immigration under control look increasingly absurd.

“It is time to revert to serious enforcement.”

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