In the year 2013, the Romanian Border Police has aimed to fulfiil the tasks set out for it in the current national legislation in regards to optimizing the surveillance and control at the border, as well as efficiently combating cross-border criminality. During its specific activities the Romanian Border Police has sought to accomplish the following goals:
Ensuring, at a high level, the surveillance and control of state border crossing, according to the community standards and procedures; Efficient use of the human, material and financial resources allotted to the institution; Increase the absorption degree of non-reimbursable community funds; Development of inter-institutional cooperation at internal and international level; Completing the implementation of the Integrated Border Security System; Applying an efficient quality management system at institutional level.Achieved performance indicators:
Operational
increase by more than 6% of the illegal deeds detected by the border policemen in the competence areas.The majority of the detected illegal deeds were in the field of illegal migration, including false and use of false - more than 3.500 deeds - followed by goods smuggling, fish poaching and economic-financial crimes.
The most active border, from the criminal point of view, was the one with Ukraine, where approximately 22% of the total of criminal acts were detected.
in the field of illegal migration, 2.049 persons were detected crossing or attempting to cross illegally the border, out of which 1.517 foreign citizens were involved in the migration phenomenon. Out of these, 822 foreigners were organized in groups, totally 290 migrant groups and 190 traffickers were detected.Also, 9 groups were organized in order to commit trafficking of migrants, 34 traffickers and 79 trafficked persons were detained.
3.508 foreign citizens were not allowed to enter Romania for different legal reasons, the increase is 3,4% in comparison to the last year; 130 facilitators were detected - 59 Romanian citizens and 71 foreign citizens, and out of the total of trafficked persons, more than 200 persons - originating from countries producing migrants - filed requests for asylum at the structures of the Border Police.Significant cases
At the Black Sea, several groups of migrants were detected; 120 persons - Syrian citizens - needed support and first aid from the border policemen, having in view the unsafe crafts used by the traffickers.
502 economic-financial crimes and 1.395 crimes related to smuggling and customs fraud were ascertained.421 persons were detained crossing or attempting to cross illegally the border who were carrying goods which were the subject of smuggling or illegal trafficking with goods.
Other confiscated goods:
15.593 liters of alcohol; 1.452 kg coffee; approximately 1 kg of golden jewels; 178.339 Euro and 608.180 dollars, undeclared while crossing the border; 33 suspect objects belonging to the national cultural heritage; counterfeited goods with protected international brands, such as: 340.286 pieces of clothing and underwear articles; 194.608 pieces of cosmetics and perfumery; 86.236 pairs of footwear. 283 criminal acts were detected in the field of intellectual property right, with approximately 32% more in comparison to 2012. 8.347.869 packages of cigarettes were confiscated, amounting to approximately 89.6 million lei, out of which 4.836.358 packages, amounting to 44.8 million lei, were the subject of cigarette smuggling. 37 organized groups were detected for committing smuggling with cigarettes, in which 282 persons were identified.The total amount of the smuggled goods which were confiscated is of approximately 202 million lei, and out of the total of ascertained crimes, approximately 52% were detected at the border with Ukraine, 18% at the border with Moldova and 16% at the border with Serbia.
Other detections recorded in 2013, were: 225 vehicles suspected of being stolen; 268 weapons, 111.483 cartridges - without legal documents for crossing the border and 6,5 tons of explosive material; 0,075 kg cocaine, 3,4 kg cannabis, 22.035 pieces of anabolic substances, Â 271 pieces of forbidden substances; 120 crafts, 53 boat engines, 85.993 m monofilament nets, 8.724 fishing tools - used for fish poaching, as well as 32.739 kg fish (364 kg sturgeon) and 191 kg roe, out of which 25,8 kg caviar.Significant cases
The case coordinated by DIICOT prosecutors in Alba, where the border policemen in collaboration with the representatives of Directorate of Organized Crime, Department for Information and Internal Protection, Romanian Intelligence Service, Directorate for Special Operations and General Directorate for Fiscal Anti-Fraud managed to dismantle an organized criminal group, made up of 91 persons, which was specialized in the committing of smuggling and illegal trading of golden jewels from Turkey. 225 house searches were carried out on the radius of several counties and approximately 60 kg of golden jewels were confiscated, currently the persons involved are under investigation. The second case is the one from Iasi, under the coordination of DIICOT prosecutors and in collaboration with the Romanian Intelligence Service, representatives of General Inspectorate of Romanian Gendarmerie and the authorities from Republic of Moldova, the border policemen detected a criminal group, specialized in the counterfeiting of cigarettes, cigarette smuggling, threatening acts and blackmail. The following were confiscated: a line of cigarette production, hundred thousand of counterfeited cigarette packages, more than 12 tons of tobacco aimed to be processed, more than 1 million stamps, blank paper and plastic films for packages, 14 vehicles, a gun and an air pistol, 3 white weapons, more than 670 liters of alcohol and different sums of money. 31 house searches were carried out and 12 persons were arrested for 29 days.Cooperation
The Romanian Border Police participated in 11 joint operations and 3 pilot projects, organized by the European Agency FRONTEX, out of which: At the land border - 5 joint operations in: Greece, Finland, Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, Hungary, Moldova, Ukraine and Macedonia (57 experts and 38 vehicles); At the maritime border - 4 joint operations (44 experts, 2 vessels and 1 thermo-vision vehicle).Significant cases
The Romanian border policemen onboard of admiral
vessel "Stefan cel Mare" obtained remarkable results, appreciated
by the European partners within the joint operations at sea, thus
detaining 1.042 illegal migrants, 34 facilitators and the "mother
ship" involved in the transportation of hundred illegal migrants in
Italy.
Within a press conference, the Italian authorities mentioned that
it is the first case in which a "mother ship" was apprehended in
the international waters, and the Romanian border policemen were
congratulated for their important contribution which led to the
gathering of proofs which demonstrated their involvement in the
transfer of stowaway migrants.
A total of over 460 Romanian border policemen participated in bilateral actions carried out abroad, including in Frontex operations, and over 400 foreign representatives were hosted in our country.
The EUROSUR concept was implemented and the relevant Regulation was applied which allowed the communication with other 18 EU MS situated at the south-eastern external borders of EU. According to the Regulation, over 1400 events recorded in the competence area were introduced in the EUROSUR network making thus possible the creation of a real situational image at European level.Image
Over 1.600 press materials transmitted from central and local level - 93% positive image; Specialty counselling was granted to citizens who called the 9590 line - over 15.700 solved calls and over 5.700 petitions, requests addressed to RBP were answered in due time and according to the law. Romanian Border Police was recertified for implementing the Quality Management System.Utilization of resources
Personnel dynamics:
approx. 98% employment level with personnel (at the structures on the EU external border the employment level is 97%); according to personnel categories: approx. 17% officers, 79 % agents and 4% personnel employed based on contract; average age: 38 years; over 83% of employees carry out their activity in the operational field and 17%, within the support structures.Professional training:
over 2.500 border policemen participated in courses organized by RBP education institutions, MAI or specialized companies; 3.105 border policemen participated in complementary training activities (seminars, symposiums, counsels, joint operations, training sessions and workshops); 196 border policemen participated in training sessions organized under FRONTEX aegis; over 400 Romanian and foreign specialists were trained in RBP education institutions and FRONTEX partner institutions.Personnel training / motivation:
993 border policemen rewarded; 235 border policemen received disciplinary sanctions, out of which 4 were dismissed;Following the measures adopted on the line of preventing and countering corruption, 241 cases of policemen who refused to take bribe were registered (maximum amount offered: 1.000 Euro).
Material resources:
degree of endowment with auto vehicles - 52%; degree of endowment with naval means - 88%; degree of endowment with surveillance means -70%; degree of endowment with control equipment - 58%; implementation degree of the Integrated System for Border Security - 94%, out of which: Infrastructure subsystem - 100%; Surveillance subsystem - 98%; Subsystem of professional mobile communications - 92%; Voice data communication subsystem - 99%; Fix communication subsystem - 95%; IT subsystem - 75%.Financial resources:
budgetary funds: approximately 900 million lei; non-reimbursable European funds : approximately 7 million Euro, through the Yearly Programme 2011 (completed), whose value amounts to 11,7 million euro; approximately 4 million Euro, through the Yearly Programme 2012 (in the implementation phase, with eligibility deadline in June 2014), whose value amounts to 15,5 million euro; over 1 million euro in other programmes financed at European level (Framework programme 7 - promotion of cooperative research at the level of EU MS and 4 projects financed by the European Commission, which focused on inter-agency and international cooperation with other states in the field of border check and surveillance).For the period 2014 - 2020, project fiches were drawn up for financing the actions of the public order component for the Internal Security Fund - Border and Visas and for Operational Programmes. The value of the proposed project fiches is over 42 million Euro, without TVA - out of which 75% EU financing and 25% national co-financing and it represents 57% of the total amount assigned to the fund.Â
Conclusions
The Border Police applied the provisions of the Schengen Border Code and Schengen Handbook, as well as other Community provisions in the field, performing the border check and surveillance in keeping with the European practice and responsibilities undertaken by our country. Border check and surveillance is supported by a risk analysis system which observes the European standards, being carried out both at strategic and operational level, as well as at tactical level. The internal and international interagency cooperation - based on operational exchange of information, participation in common actions and investigations, common training of specialists - continued to develop, being the ground for the integrated border management. The Romanian Border Police participated actively in operations organised under FRONTEX aegis, and its contribution was appreciated both in regard to their professionalism, as well as to the equipment placed at disposal. The results obtained on operational line confirms the responsibility undertaken by our institution for ensuring a climate of safety, security, free movement and justice at the Romanian borders.Priorities 2014
Maintaining a viable institution compatible with similar European structures and capable of ensuring a high level of surveillance and control of the borders and of preventing and countering efficiently illegal migration and cross-border crime in the competence areas. Ensuring the necessary human, financial and material resources for fulfilling the specific missions by all subordinated structures. Continuing the process of training of border policemen at the level of Schengen standards. Increasing the level of absorbtion of non-reimbursable Community funds destined for EU external border security. Extension and development of cooperation relations with the law enforcement agencies from the country and abroad, for the purpose of efficiently managing the cross-border crime phenomena. Further participation in joint operations carried out under Frontex agency aegis, as well as establishing future Community measures in the field of EU external borders management.