London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Oct 07, 2025

UK policing and border control infiltrated by war mentality, says report

UK policing and border control infiltrated by war mentality, says report

Campaign groups say hyper-militarisation of British policing agencies is ‘deeply troubling’

Policing, border control and surveillance have become increasingly militarised in the UK and infiltrated by a “war mentality”, according to a report.

It says there is an increasingly blurred line between the police and the military and that key areas including counter-terrorism, anti-protest policing, border control and the policing of gangs have adopted a war mentality.

The report from Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) and the Network for Police Monitoring (Netpol) describes the hyper-militarisation of British policing agencies as “deeply troubling”.

The increased use of hi-tech surveillance tools such as phone data extraction technology, mobile fingerprint scanners and live facial recognition technology are among the techniques that the report expresses concern about. People of colour are identified as being at greatest risk of being targeted.

While not all of these techniques are new, the report – A Very British Problem: The Evolution of Britain’s Militarised Policing Industrial Complex – maps their increasing use in recent years and says the technology “vastly tips power in favour of the state”.

It states: “Black activists are disproportionately subjected to excessive police force. Armed counter-terrorism units, immigration enforcement and UK Border Force draw directly from the military handbook. Police officers are increasingly acting like border guards working with the Home Office to carry out immigration control.”

It expresses concern that surveillance technology is being rolled out in the absence of sufficient legislative or parliamentary oversight. While many organisations are involved with the deployment of technologies such as AI and facial recognition, there is no single body guiding the adoption of these new technologies.

Key areas of concern include:

*  Mobile fingerprint scanners, which many police forces now use and are linked to the Home Office’s immigration and asylum biometric system, which holds the fingerprints of non-UK citizens who have entered the country.

*  The Home Office biometrics programme, a new digital system to allow biometric and other data to be shared seamlessly between police, immigration enforcement and other government departments.

*  Use of military-grade drones to patrol the Channel to carry out surveillance on asylum seekers crossing in small boats.

*  A gangs matrix that profiles people believed to be gang members, whether or not they have committed any crime. A 2016 survey of the matrix by Amnesty International found that 87% of those on it were from BAME backgrounds.

The report’s author, Dr Keren Weitzberg, said: “The police are increasingly relying on hi-tech, data-driven and military-grade technology to surveil the British population.”

Sam Perlo-Freeman, a research coordinator at CAAT, said: “Policing in the UK is becoming steadily more repressive, but it’s not just about what the UK is doing to its own citizens. The UK trains foreign police and security services, especially around border control.”

Emily Apple, a communications coordinator at Netpol, said: “This report busts the myth that the police in the UK govern, or have ever governed, by consent. It lays out what those from marginalised communities know all too well, that institutionalised and structural racism results in overpolicing, excessive force and disproportionate criminalisation.

With the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act, we’re more likely to see increased criminalisation and surveillance of protesters. It’s down to all of us to monitor what the police are doing and to defend our right to dissent.”

The Home Office said: “All policing and law enforcement practices are underpinned by some of the most robust guidance and laws in the world and to suggest otherwise is wrong.

“Agencies, including police, immigration enforcement and Border Force will face times when they put themselves in danger to deliver for the public, so it is only right they are trained and deploy to the highest standards.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
×