Drop in demand from migrants among key factors in small boat crossings reduction
The analysis found that boat supply chains had been disrupted by the war in the Middle East, as well as law enforcement activity.
A reduction in demand from migrants and increased law enforcement activity were key contributory factors in the drop in small boat crossings to the UK in the first six months of this year, an assessment has found.
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The National Crime Agency (NCA), which deals with organised immigration crime, carried out its own analysis of small boat crossings and released selected extracts on Monday.
It would not publish the assessment in full, saying that it draws on “sensitive intelligence”.
The analysis found that boat supply chains had been disrupted by the war in the Middle East, as well as law enforcement activity, and a reduction in demand, as well as efforts by the authorities, had seen a drop in the number of migrants arriving in small boats.
In the first six months of 2026, the number of people arriving in the UK by small boat fell 41% and the number of boats 47% compared to the previous year.
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The number of arrests linked to organised immigration crime in the year to the end of April 2026 rose by more than 55%, and since late 2023 more than 1,600 boats or engines have been seized.
Since 2021, around 40,000 posts, pages or accounts linked to people smuggling have also been removed from social media.
NCA director general of operations Rob Jones said: “The NCA is devoting more resource to tackling organised immigration crime than ever before, and that is bringing results.
“Alongside our partners on both sides of the Channel we are making it more difficult and costlier for people smuggling networks to source equipment, more difficult to get it to the beaches and in the water, more difficult to communicate with potential customers, and more likely smugglers will be confronted by law enforcement.
“However, we are not complacent, and the job is by no means done. We must continue to keep up the pressure on these criminal gangs, as they continue to put lives at risk in the Channel.”
Minister for border security and asylum Anna Turley said: “New analysis shows that we are making it harder for the criminal gangs to operate.
“With crossings down significantly on last year, and the lowest arrivals over the summer for six years, our plan is bearing fruit.
“We have boosted officer numbers on French beaches, seized more than 1,100 small boats and engines and are reducing the pull factors drawing migrants across the Channel.
“This includes making refugee status temporary, cracking down on illegal working and returning more people without the right to be here.
“But we are not complacent. We will continue our relentless efforts to prevent these dangerous crossings and put those responsible behind bars.”