PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Ports: Surveillance (14 December 2015)

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will establish a Coastal Watch of volunteers who can work alongside police and other agencies to report unusual or suspicious activities in the UK's harbours and ports.

Asked by:
Mark Pritchard (Conservative)

National Crime Agency, police, and Border Force have established Project Kraken, an initiative aimed at increasing public vigilance on matters related along the UK’s coastal and maritime security. Project Kraken encourages the public to report any unusual or suspicious behaviour in harbours, ports and other maritime environments.

In addition, Border Force is already working closely with the National Coastwatch Institution volunteer network. The network use their expert knowledge of the maritime environment to spot and report unusual or suspicious activities along the coastline. Any such information is provided directly to the National Maritime Information Centre (NMIC) which is a cross-government organisation that is focussed on sharing intelligence concerning maritime security issues. Border Force is actively exploring similar arrangements with other maritime related organisations

Answered by:
James Brokenshire (Conservative)
21 December 2015