Transforming the Border – Automation

5th Annual International Public Sector Reform Symposium: New Models of Service Delivery for the 21st Century

Ian Neill, e-Borders programme, UKBAWednesday 14th December 2011

The Use of Technology to Improve the Passenger Experience

Transforming the Border – Automation

IRIS: available in 10 terminals across 4 UK airports

e-Passport Gates: available at 10 UK airport terminals

Iris Recognition Immigration System (IRIS)

Launched in 2006.

A quick, convenient and secure way to clear immigration.

IRIS gates use iris recognition technology and require pre-registration to read passengers’ iris patterns and verify their identity before allowing them entry to the UK.

They are available at Heathrow Terminals 1, 3, 4 and 5, Gatwick North, Manchester Terminals 1,2 and 3 and Birmingham Terminal 1.

Available to British Citizens, EEA nationals, visa nationals, non-visa nationals and those with permanent residence in the UK.

e-Passport Gates

Currently have 63 e-Gates in operation. They are located at Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Luton, Birmingham, East Midlands, Cardiff, Bristol and Manchester.

The system can currently be used by any British or EEA citizen aged 18 years and over who has an ePassport with an electronic chip.

It works by using facial recognition technology to compare the faces of UK and EEA passengers to images held in their biometric ePassports in addition to other security checks.

Anyone rejected will be referred to UK Border Agency officers monitoring the gates.

500,000 crossings per month

20072007

200 million 200 million

20152015

300 million 300 million

20302030

400 to 600 million

400 to 600 million

Passenger journeys per year through the UK by air, sea and rail,

Resource to Risk

We are using new technology to facilitate a passengers’ journey whilst managing passenger volumes effectively

Cross border passenger movement by air alone is forecast to increase from under 200m people in 2007 to 375m in 2030

We need to create an integrated and secure border for the 21st Century, using new technology to manage more people, more quickly and more securely through our borders

e-Borders Solution

A) Visa issue overseas• Watchlist checks on visa applicants•e-Borders travel history to assist visa decisionsB) Departure from overseas•Carriers submit details to e-Borders•Passengers subject to watchlist checks prior to their arrival in the UKC) Arrival at the UK border•New systems will enable Border Agency Officers to:•Biometrically verify identity of arriving passengers•Intervene in response to alerts•D) Leaving the UK•Carriers will send details of passengers•Border Agency Officers will establish targeted embarkation checks in response to risk assessment against this data

National Border Targeting Centre

The NBTC is a vital enabler to realising the e-Borders benefits:

State of the art operations centre with access to multiple agency systems. Officially opened in March 2010.Improved processes and ways of working. Improved collaboration across Agencies – UKBA, Police and SOCA forming multi-agency teams and working together to create a more secure border through closer and more integrated working

Data collected

TRAVEL DOCUMENT INFORMATION biographical identity information from the travel document

(Name, D.O.B. Nationality, Gender, document number, document type, expiry date, and issuing state)

all routes in/out on all modes of transport watchlists travel history

PASSENGER NAME RECORD rules based targeting - known behaviour patterns will collect on a risk basistravellers may be previously unknown to agenciesidentify potential offenders from trends and patterns of behaviour

Data safeguards

Less than 1% of UKBA staff have direct access to the e-Borders system.

All users must have a high level of security clearance

Strong safeguards are in place to protect personal data collected and ensure openness and transparency

Data is held in a secure database in a secure location, and

accessed only by security cleared operatives

Held on the e-Borders system for five years in an active database, with provision for access on a case by case basis for a further five years

Successes

390m passenger movements analysed

Over 10,100 arrests, including 64 murderers

1630 adverse immigration history/RLEs

27 facilitators identified

241 lost/stolen passports impounded

8.7m cigarettes seized

646kg drugs seized