A new report suggests that the UK Border Force is effectively operating under military command, reflecting a broader trend of increased militarization within law enforcement. The report examines international law enforcement practices and thier implications.

The Institute of Race Relations (IRR) report, released on the fifth anniversary of George Floyd‘s death, asserts that the 21st century has witnessed the rise of paramilitary and “political” policing throughout Europe. These tactics are reportedly being deployed at borders, during periods of civil unrest, and in response to public protests.

The report cites the Home Office’s 2020 request for support from the Ministry of defense (MoD), as well as the creation of a “clandestine Channel threat commander” position within the Border Force, as evidence of the Channel’s increasing militarization.

Liz Fekete, the director of the IRR and the author of the report, stated, “What they have begun at the border does not end at the border.”

fekete added, “First, the goverment portrays asylum seekers arriving in small boats in an already militarised Channel as a national security threat. The plan to allow french police to push back boats in the Channel can only led to more injuries, more deaths.”

She continued, “Second, we know that plastic bullets (still used in Northern Ireland) have already been authorised for use at the Notting Hill carnival and BLM (Black Lives Matter) protests of 2020 and that,since than,BLM protests have been subjected to baton charges,horse charges and pepper spray, and that student occupations for Palestine have been violently suppressed.”

“Third, we certainly know that discrete firearms units have been created within crime fighting units (recall the deaths of Mark Duggan and Chris Kaba) and that jean Charles de Menezes died as a result of the ‘shoot to kill’ approach of Operation Kratos.”

“This is why we are saying to the government today that ‘it’s time to take stock’. For this is demonstrably not policing by consent.”

The report further asserts that the MoD’s oversight of policing small-boat crossings in the Channel has “effectively [put] elements of the UK Border Force under military command.” It also references Keir Starmer‘s announcement regarding granting Border Security Command counter-terrorism powers to combat people-smuggling, and Drone Watch UK’s submission to the House of Commons defence committee, which stated that the Channel has been militarized through the deployment of military-grade drones.

A key theme of the report, titled Paramilitary Policing Against the People, is the increasing use of “less-lethal weaponry,” which can still inflict serious injuries. Tasers, such as, were introduced to policing in England and Wales in 2003, Northern Ireland in 200