Policy paper

Home Office response to the ICIBI report: A re-inspection of Border Force’s management of Project Kraken at small seaports

Published 15 June 2023

This was published under the 2022 to 2024 Sunak Conservative government

January - February 2023

The Home Office thanks the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration (ICIBI) for this re-inspection of Border Force’s management of Project Kraken at small seaports report.

Project Kraken is a long-standing multi-agency initiative which aims to counter the threats from serious and organised crime, including smuggling, immigration crime and terrorism, around the UK’s coastline. It is a public facing campaign that has been used since 2008 and aims to encourage the public to report suspicious behaviour in and around the general maritime (GM) community.

Project Kraken is Border Force led but has significant multi-agency support, including from the National Crime Agency (NCA), Small Boats Operational Command (SBOC), counter-terrorism policing (CTP) and territorial policing. It is primarily aimed at members of the public in coastal communities, pleasure craft users and those in and around small ports, marinas, and harbours.

This inspection focused on the effectiveness of Project Kraken and included the strategic and tactical delivery, engagement with stakeholders and the publicity materials, reporting mechanisms and outcomes.

The Home Office is pleased the ICIBI acknowledged the progress made since the last inspection, the increase in the number of reports received, that it considered Border Force staff enthusiastic and hard working and that partner agencies recognised Border Force as the appropriate agency to lead on Project Kraken.

The re-inspection timing, outside of the traditional general maritime season and in close proximity to the relaunch, may have led to an incomplete picture of our overall strategy in the report, as Project Kraken forms part of general maritime intelligence gathering and feeds into the wider functions undertaken by Border Force.

The ICIBI identified several areas for improvement and has made a total of four recommendations.

The Home Office has fully accepted one recommendation, partially accepted one, and not accepted two.

Recommendation 1

The Home Office should develop a mechanism to track the outcomes of intelligence generated through Project Kraken and use the information to assess the effectiveness of the project and promote ‘good news’ stories.

Accepted

Although it is currently too early to fully assess the outcomes of the Project Kraken relaunch, we recognise that improvement work is required. Work is under way to further develop tracking mechanisms in place to enable us to measure the end-to-end effectiveness of the project.

Home Office expected implementation date: September 2023

Recommendation 2

The Home Office should allocate an annual budget for Project Kraken work, including an ongoing communications campaign, to enable planning for future years and demonstrate its long-term commitment to managing the project.

Partially accepted

Project Kraken forms one part of the broader general maritime (GM) work undertaken by the Home Office. We review all Border Force activity on an annual basis and allocate funding against priorities and so Project Kraken will naturally form part of the GM settlement.

Furthermore, as Project Kraken is a multi-agency campaign, Border Force will continue to work closely with all our partner agencies to review and evaluate budgetary options as well as strands of activity, which will include communications, for the long-term success of the project. An evaluation / review paper will be produced to feed into established budgetary processes.

Home Office expected implementation date: April 2024

Recommendation 3

The Home Office should develop an engagement strategy that encompasses Border Force, stakeholder, and law enforcement agency activities to raise awareness of Project Kraken and identify opportunities for smarter working around planned engagement events.

Not Accepted

The Home Office accepts that engagement plays an important role in raising awareness of Project Kraken.

Project Kraken is already supported through existing forums, notably the Kraken Tactical Delivery Group, which maintains strategic oversight of the work.

This oversight already includes a multi-faceted communications plan and so we don’t believe an additional layer of governance would add benefit. Our engagement activity on all projects, including Kraken, will however continue to be subject to ongoing review.

Recommendation 4

The Home Office should develop and finance its own social media campaign to continually raise awareness of Project Kraken.

Not accepted

The Home Office considers the previous Crimestoppers social media campaign to have been a strong positive step in our communication campaign relating to Project Kraken. The Home Office will work with partners to continue exploring future communication routes. Social media campaigns may feature as part of the overall communications strategy.