§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on Project Reflex. [177869]
§ Caroline FlintReflex is the government's response to organised immigration crime. It was established in 2000 as a multi-agency task force to co-ordinate intelligence and the law enforcement response. Led by the National Crime Squad (NCS), Reflex brings together the key agencies involved in combating organised immigration crime including the Immigration Service, the National Criminal Intelligence Service, the security and intelligence agencies, the UK Passport Service, government departments including the Crown Prosecution Service and key police forces.
Based on its initial success Reflex was awarded £60 million over three years starting in April 2003. The core aims of Reflex are to raise the risks that organised crime gangs must take, render their illegal businesses unprofitable and reduce the opportunities for them to exploit communities.
Reflex targets criminal groups involved in the volume facilitation of illegal migrants, human trafficking (in particular the trafficking of women and children) and running the criminal infrastructures that serve both to facilitate illegal entry and to exploit the illegal population once in the UK.
Between April 2003 and April 2004 reflex resulted in 38 disruptions. In the same period Reflex operations resulted in 38 convictions.