Evaluation of the activity of the Romanian Border Police carried out in 2021

In 2021, the Romanian Border Police aimed to fulfill the duties conferred by the national legislation in force, both in terms of optimizing border surveillance and control, as well as the effective fight against cross-border crime.

At the same time, considering the need to implement the measures established at national level in order to prevent the spread of the infection with the new coronavirus, the Romanian Border Police aimed to achieve the following objectives.

• Streamlining cross-border traffic by supplementing border control staff, making full use of crossing point infrastructure and using mobile control equipment to increase processing capacity;
• Maintaining the measures adopted in the specific border control activity previously established for the management of the spread of infections on the Romanian territory of the SARS-VOC 2 virus during the alert state;
• Management of illegal migration and cross-border crime registered in the area of territorial competence of the border police, by implementing, in a unitary manner, specific measures to prevent and combat them, coordinating - within the limits and conditions established by law - activities subordinated structures and the effective conduct of actions to prevent and investigate crimes related to illegal migration and cross-border crime.
• Ensuring the necessary human, technical resources, means of land and naval mobility, other specific equipment, for the fulfillment of specific missions by all subordinate structures.
• Ensuring a high-level representation of the Romanian state, of the MIA and RBP. in cooperation with similar structures in neighboring countries, with partner structures in EU member states, with European agencies, as well as with other institutions with which it cooperates.

• PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

• The traffic values recorded at the border checkpoints were approximately 36.1 million people crossing (28.8 million EU citizens and 7.3 million non-EU citizens), both on the way out and on the direction of entry.

Compared to the same period of 2020, when the values of human trafficking registered at the Romanian borders were 28.5 million, overall there is an increase of 27%.

By border sections, in 2021 there were significant increases at the border with the Republic of Moldova - 62% and at the air border - 55%. At the same time, we specify that the border traffic with Hungary and the air traffic represents 60% of the total values.

During the analyzed period, the traffic values for the means of transport registered at the border checkpoints were about 11.9 million vehicles, 15% higher compared to the similar period of 2020 (10.3 million means of transport). Although the most transited by means of transport is the Romanian-Hungarian border with 47.3% of the total, the largest increase in their traffic was registered at the border with the Republic of Moldova - about 60%.

o In 2021, 18,542 illegal acts were found, of which 11,071 crimes and 7,471 contraventions.

Most of the crimes discovered concerned the attempted or illegal crossing of the border (4,820 deeds), followed by the offenses of forgery and use of forgery (1,621) and of an economic-financial nature, including smuggling of goods (900 deeds).

Last year, most of the criminal acts were detected at the border with Hungary, their number representing 27% of the number of crimes found at the Romanian border.

In 2021, 11,232 foreign nationals were not allowed to enter the country due to non-compliance with legal requirements. The main reasons for the order not to enter the country were: they did not have the necessary documentation to justify the purpose and conditions of residence or did not have a valid visa or residence permit.

At the same time, approximately 89,900 Schengen or national alerts were detected at the border control, respectively approximately 340 wanted persons, Romanian and foreign citizens, were handed over to the competent authorities,

o In the field of illegal migration, actions continued in an integrated system, as well as measures aimed at strengthening border control devices with Serbia and Bulgaria. The increase in the number of crews carrying out state border surveillance activities, the provision of the necessary surveillance equipment, as well as the efficient cooperation with the other structures of the Ministry of Internal Affairs were considered, so that the phenomenon is properly managed.

During te reference period, the border guards found 15,390 foreign nationals who tried to cross the border illegally, in the area of competence, of which 9,053 on the way into the country and 6,337 on the way out, most of them acting illegally at the border organized in groups of migrants, with the support of traffickers, as follows:

• 2,289 groups of migrants and over 600 people were found, Romanian and foreign citizens, involved in the trafficking of migrants by supporting foreign citizens in trying to cross the border illegally.
• 9,214 migrants were found illegally operating at the green border, 5,040 tried to cross the border illegally hidden in means of transport, and 432 people were found trying to cross illegally using other methods (travel documents and fake visas, substitution of person, avoidance of border control, etc.). As an element of novelty in 2021, was the illegal crossing, in the river area, through the use of boats (704 foreign citizens)
• 5,907 people requested the granting of asylum status to the border police structures, being handed over to the representatives of the General Inspectorate for Immigration for taking legal measures.

Compared to 2020, there is an increase in the number of people detected while trying to cross the border illegally by 45%.

Also, during the period under review, action was taken to secure vulnerable border areas and increase response capacity, working with the Serbian border authorities to prevent the illegal crossing of migrants from the neighboring country. Thus, in 2021, 75,624 people were prevented from entering the country.

Regarding the nationality of those detected in an attempt to cross the border illegally, it is found that most citizens come from the following countries: Afghanistan, Syria, Bangladesh, Iraq, Turkey, Pakistan, India, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia.

Against the background of the increase of the migratory pressure in the area of the Western Balkans (an increase of approximately 125% was registered compared to 2020, being reported over 60,000 illegal migrants detected at European level) with influence on the state border of Romania with Serbia, at the level of the Romanian Border Police a series of measures have been applied in order to limit the number of people who intend to enter the country by crossing the border illegally, consisting of:

• strengthening the surveillance device at the Romanian-Serbian border
• support and guidance missions performed by specialist officers from the general inspectorate
• aerial surveillance missions in the areas of competence, carried out by a helicopter of the General Aviation Inspectorate
• joint actions with representatives of the National Police, the Romanian Gendarmerie, the General Inspectorate for Immigration, the General Inspectorate for Aviation in order to efficiently manage the phenomenon.

o On the line of preventing and combating smuggling of goods, 53 crimes of an economic - financial nature and 847 crimes of smuggling and customs fraud were found, the value of the confiscated goods being 196 million lei.

• Approximately 318 people were found crossing or attempting to cross the border illegally on which goods were discovered that were smuggled or smuggled.
• 3.9 million packs of cigarettes were seized for confiscation, with an approximate value of 50 million lei, over 62,000 kg of tobacco, 765 kg of hookah tobacco and six organized groups set up to commit the crime of smuggling cigarettes were identified and dismantled, in which 52 people were involved.

According to the latest Novel Research study, the black market for cigarettes in Romania fell by 8.7% in 2021 compared to 9.4% in 2020. At the same time, in November 2021 it even reached 7.4%. of total consumption, being the lowest level recorded in the last 15 years.

Other assets withheld for confiscation:

• 52,176 liters of alcohol;
• 5.6 kg of gold and silver jewelry;
• 157,000 euros and 31,300 dollars, 484,000 pounds and 1,500,000 lei.

• On the line of crime with vehicles suspected of being stolen, during the analyzed period, 166 vehicles were discovered in the area of competence of the border police, reported as wanted by the authorities or suspected of being stolen (131 cars, 18 minibuses, 7 trucks, a bus, 6 motorcycles and 3 trailers), with 177 offenses found.

The persons involved in this illicit activity are Bulgarian, Spanish, Swedish, Iranian, Polish, Turkish, Ukrainian, Moldovan, Hungarian, German and Romanian citizens.

o  On the line of intellectual property right, during the analyzed period, 327 acts of a criminal nature regarding the intellectual property right were found. Thus, the border guards - independently or in collaboration with the customs workers found counterfeit goods bearing the insignia of protected international trademarks, as follows:

• 123,335 cosmetics and perfumery products;
• 106,518 articles of clothing and lingerie;
• 20,356 pairs of shoes;
• 468,000 pieces of batteries
• 1,837,285 pieces of other goods (hygiene products, toys, leather goods, tools, writing instruments, telephone accessories, electronic cigarettes, bath sets, etc.)

o    Other discoveries recorded in 2021 were:

• 2,902 weapons, mostly non-lethal (2,857 cartridge pistols, 4 shotguns, 4 military pistols, 1 gas pistol, 30 compressed air pistols, 4 compressed air pistols and 2 shotguns), 244,498 cartridges, 20 weapon components, 2 grenades and 2,079,969 pieces of pyrotechnic material;

o In the line of combating and preventing fish poaching, 727 fish poaching offenses were detected and 1,378 sanctions were applied, amounting to 394,820 lei and 62 boats, 36 boat engines, 44,953 m monofilament nets, 14,727 m wire nets textile, 8,528 m nylon mesh, 568 pcs. other gear, 6,249 kg of fish (of which 230 kg of sturgeon) and 16.6 kg of caviar (of which 4.6 kg of black caviar) were confiscated.

• Illegal transport of waste

At the level of the Romanian Border Police, actions were taken in collaboration with the representatives of the Environmental Guard in order to prevent the introduction into the country of shipments of waste that did not meet the conditions provided by law, proceeding to check and control means of transport. to specific monitoring in the area of competence.

In 2021, in specific interventions or in large-scale actions, carried out in collaboration with the National Environmental Guard and the General Directorate of Customs, significant quantities of waste were stopped at the entry into the country, respectively 237 transports with over 14,200 tons of waste consisting of: brass, chipboard, aluminum, rubber, used appliances, used clothing, cardboard, plastics, glass, paper, batteries, car components, furniture, metals, etc.   

• Actions carried out during the pandemic with COVID-19

Given the situation created since the beginning of 2020, when the SARS-Cov-2 virus was spreading rapidly around the world and the number of cases in Europe was growing at an accelerated pace, the Romanian Border Police acted permanently to ensure a control of efficient border in accordance with the legal provisions in force, for:

• streamlining cross-border traffic by supplementing border control staff, making full use of crossing point infrastructure, using mobile control equipment to increase processing capacity, contacting border authorities of neighboring states with which control is carried out jointly to ensure sufficient staff at checkpoints;
• implementation of measures limited to activities to prevent and limit the spread of SARS-CoV-2 virus, according to the regulations in force;
• ensuring the necessary support to the other M.A.I. structures, at their request, in the actions taken to prevent and combat antisocial facts / epidemiological risk behaviors, situations with an impact on public order and safety / health of persons, manifested in the area of competence;
• verification, upon entry into the country, of the authenticity and validity of EU digital vaccination certificates, with fixed barcode readers and QR code reading equipment, provided by the Special Telecommunications Service;
• checking the existence of the digital entry form in Romania e-PLF etc.

Following the checks carried out during the border control process, for the identification of possible acts of forgery in official documents and use of forgery regarding the documents issued in the context of the pandemic (PCR tests, vaccination certificates, certificates of certification of crossing the disease), the following were found:

- Methods used to circumvent the obligation to submit COVID documents issued by Romanian or foreign authorities:

• presentation of European COVID digital certificates belonging to other persons
• presentation of false European COVID digital certificates
• presentation of European COVID digital certificates for negative PCR tests, with falsified validity date.

- 273 criminal cases were drawn up for committing acts of forgery in official documents and use of forgery, in which 410 persons were involved, using the following types of false / falsified documents: 220 PCR tests, 144 vaccination certificates and 46 certificates attestation of the passage through the disease.

• INTERNAŢIONAL COOPERATION

In 2021, the Romanian Border Police also developed a very good collaboration with similar institutions from neighboring states, European Union member states and other third countries, based on the provisions of agreements, conventions, protocols and agreements in force.

The collaborative activity of the RBP with similar structures in neighboring states took place in optimal conditions, both meetings at the level of management of institutions and specific activities according to existing agreements and cooperation plans being held, in the field of ensuring compliance with the legal regime of the state border and in the field cooperation in the fight against cross-border crime. An important component of the specific cooperation was to take the necessary measures to properly manage the situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, with border institutions informing each other of the restrictions imposed and agreeing on measures to streamline traffic and facilitate border crossings.

Cooperation through border offices / centers / contact points took place in good conditions, with 34,471 requests for assistance (22,149 requests sent and 12,322 requests received) being sent to / from cooperation partners in the fields of: illegal migration, false border crossing documents, stolen vehicles, customs fraud, identification of persons with a criminal record, etc.

In 2021, the Romanian Border Police was involved in 15 joint operations, 1 rapid intervention operation and 1 multi-purpose operation, organized under the auspices of FRONTEX, with the participation of 263 border guards, experts in various professional profiles and crew members. for means of naval mobility. During Frontex operations, 2 maritime patrol vessels, patrol trucks and thermal imaging surveillance vehicles were seconded.

Main operations

1. The Romanian Border Police, through the Coast Guard, participated with maritime surveillance ships, in the Joint Operation “THEMIS”, organized by the European Agency FRONTEX. The operation took place in the operational area of Calabria-Crotone, Italy, where Romanian Border Police ships carried out patrol, search, search and rescue missions in the Mediterranean Sea, at the maritime border in southern Italy, together with police and law enforcement forces. the law of all EU Member States participants in the mission.

During the missions, the Romanian border police rescued, transhipped and transported 2,192 migrants who were in danger on small and overcrowded boats, sailing in the Mediterranean Sea, they were provided with emergency medical care, as well as food and water is subsequently handed over to the Italian authorities for specific formalities.

2. During 31.03.2021-06.10.2021, the Romanian Border Police participated together with Bulgaria in the maritime operation with multiple purposes MMO 2021, organized by FRONTEX Agency in collaboration with EMSA and EFCA on the Black Sea.

The specific operational objective of the Black Sea 2021 MMO was to prevent, detect and combat illegal migration, illegal fishing, marine pollution and other cross-border crime. During the operation, a delegation of the European Agency for Border Police and Coast Guard (Frontex), led by Mr. Fabrice Leggeri, Executive Director, was on a working visit to our country.

3. In 2021, in order to support the efforts of the RO-Serbia border surveillance and the management of the migration phenomenon, 231 seconded experts from the Member States, respectively employees, carried out the activity of the JO Flexible Operational Activities Land 2021 operation. of the FRONTEX Agency.The Agency also deployed ground mobility surveillance and technical equipment.

In 2021, RBP. was represented by 3 specialists at the FRONTEX Situational Center in Warsaw, the Piraeus International Coordination Center and the Gjirokaster Local Coordination Center, as experts in incident validation and monitoring of suspicious ships. At the end of 2020, the national reserve of experts - EBCGT, made available to FRONTEX, consists of 496 RBP experts, specialized in various profiles. Also, 168 Romanian border guards took part in training program development activities, respectively specialized training sessions on EBCGT profiles organized by the Agency, at European level.

USE OF RESOURCES

• Personnel dynamics:
  • about 84% staffing percentage.
  • 81.4% of the staff work in the operational field and 18.6% in the support structures.

Ensuring the necessary human resources at the level of the border police structures was one of the priority objectives of the institution, in the context in which RBP has the obligation to carry out specific missions and to ensure a high level of surveillance and control of the entire border, in particular the external border of the U.E. Also in 2021, the necessary steps were taken to fill the vacancies, both among the graduates of educational units with specific "Border Police" / other units that offer the necessary specialization PFR, and by direct recruitment from an external source.

At the level of educational institutions that prepare staff for RBP, in 2021, the employment of 84 graduates was ensured. Also, competitions were organized for filling 420 vacant positions (officers, agents and contract staff), existing both in the operative and for specialists in various fields, through recruitment from an external source. The competition procedures for the occupation of 147 police officer positions were approved, by transferring the police officers to the corps of police officers.

• Professional training:
  • 2,199 border guards attended courses organized by the educational institutions of the RBP., M.IA or specialized national institutions, within 77 courses for career development / training programs;
  • 119 border guards participated in training, specialization and advanced training courses organized under the auspices of FRONTEX, EUROPOL, CEPOL, etc..
• Training/motivating staff
• 1,124 border guards were rewarded for carrying out their professional activity with outstanding results;
• 264 border guards were sanctioned, a border police officer being removed from public office.

• Material resources:

The technical component of the Integrated Border Security System (SISF) consists of its supporting subsystems, such as: control, surveillance, fixed voice and data communications, professional mobile radio communications, information technology, infrastructure, mobility and integrated logistics support. The logistical actions within each subsystem - support of the SISF were carried out from the sources of financing carried out, mainly through the programs of the European non-reimbursable funds.

In 2021, the development and modernization of the RBP infrastructure remained a priority, and actions were carried out for the preparation and submission of documentation for the design, construction or modernization of several offices. Thus, several investment objectives are being implemented, financed by the Internal Security Fund for the extension, modernization and rehabilitation of headquarters.

Projects completed in 2021: 13 investment projects, the most important being:

• Construction of the headquarters of the National Passenger Information Unit
• Construction of the Disaster Recovery Cristian - Brașov headquarters
• Construction of the Izvoarele Sucevei Border Police Sector headquarters
• Construction of the Confiscated Objects Depot - the headquarters of the Territorial Inspectorate of the Sighetu Marmației Border Police
• Rehabilitation and modernization of Pavilion 4 - the headquarters of the Territorial Inspectorate of the Sighetu Marmației Border Police

Ongoing projects: 11 projects are underway, in different stages of submission and analysis, contracting and execution, consisting of:

• Construction of the Tomești Border Police Sector headquarters
• Modernization and thermal rehabilitation of the headquarters of the Băneasa Border Police Sector, Constanţa County
• Expansion and rehabilitation of spaces at the Darabani Border Police Sector
• Rehabilitation of the administrative flag and construction of new flags and facilities at the Vicovu de Sus Border Police Sector Headquarters
• Construction of the new headquarters at the Valea lui Mihai Border Police Sector
• Thermal energy rehabilitation of the administrative pavilion at the Orlea Border Police Sector
• Rehabilitation and modernization of the thermal energy system at the Negru Vodă Border Crossing Point
• Construction of the headquarters for the ETIAS National Unit
• Rehabilitation of the administrative pavilion, headquarters of the SCOMAR Command and Control Center
• Thermal rehabilitation of 5 buildings within the building 49-181 - the headquarters of the Territorial Inspectorate of the Oradea Border Police
• Rehabilitation of the thermal energy and administrative pavilion at the Borş Border Police Sector.

The mobility system of the Romanian Border Police has been developed, which includes all the means of transport used in the surveillance and intervention operations at the state border.

Following the completion of the supply contract, 5 Romanian Kewatec 1850 intervention boats entered the Romanian Border Police.

During 2021, the implementation of a project began, through which, during 2022, 2 Coast Guard ships will enter the endowment of the Coast Guard and the procurement procedures for 20 fast RHIB type intervention boats and the award of a framework agreement for the provision of rapid response vessels with aluminum bodies.

In order to carry out the border surveillance activities in good condition, land mobility means were purchased, consisting of 29 surveillance vehicles based on Ford Transit thermal imaging, 5 Renault D26 trucks for transporting equipment and operational surveillance vehicles.

Also, public procurement procedures were carried out for the contracting of equipment intended to ensure border surveillance and control of travel documents, consisting of thermal imaging cameras, thermal surveillance special vehicles, spectral video-comparators, forensic kits, people detectors, special vehicles for document control and checks with funding from the state budget and European funds.

Overall, the current level of endowment for mobile and fixed border surveillance equipment, as well as for land and naval mobility, ensures the support of specific operational missions, the degree of endowment being between 38 and 64%.

• Financial resources:

The funds necessary to fulfill the objectives of the National Strategy for Integrated State Border Management are financed from:

• Funds from the state budget,
• External grants,
• Funds resulting from the co-financing provided by the Romanian state related to the non-reimbursable funds,
• Other sources.

- Budgetary funds: - the budget execution was 99.63% in proportion to all the approved investment objectives and actions being completed.

The financial-accounting activity was carried out in order to ensure the financial balance, the proper financing of the border surveillance and control activities, as well as the financial-logistical ones of the border police structures, the financing of the subordinated tertiary ordinators and approved.

Regarding the management of financial resources, they were used both for granting the financial rights of the staff and for the acquisition of material goods necessary for the institution, payment of utilities, fuel, etc.

      - Non-refundable funds:

In 2021 at the level of RBP, the total value of non-reimbursable external funds accessed within the projects both through dedicated funds, respectively the National Program Fund for Internal Security, as well as through other non-reimbursable funds, was approximately 156 million euros, the value of commitments being approx. 53.6 million euros, and the payments made of 52.2 million euros, the budget execution being thus 97%.

In 2021, 18 projects were completed that targeted both investments and endowments, worth 13 million Euros, for example:

• automatic airport travel document verification systems - ABC gates,
• rehabilitation, construction of pavilions at the headquarters of the Suceava Springs sector,
• the extension, in the context of EUROSUR, of the regional coordination centers (Territorial Inspectorates Giurgiu and Oradea),
• modernization of the automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) system for border crossing control,
• modernization of the border police voice communication system,
• purchase of equipment: EURODAC fingerprint stations, heart rate detectors, thermal imaging truck, etc.

Projects for the year 2022:

• completion of works for the extension and rehabilitation of spaces at the Darabani Border Police Sector,
• the reception of 2 maritime patrol vessels - CPV that will also carry out activities in FRONTEX operations,
• receiving equipment and software solutions related to the development and implementation of the IT&C infrastructure for EES and ETIAS,
• modernization of the infrastructure component - the headquarters of the SCOMAR Command and Control Center and of the communication, power supply and air conditioning system at the level of the Coast Guard,
• reception of 7 mobile surveillance platforms, purchase of intervention boats, etc.
• PRIORITIES for 2022

For the year 2022, the Romanian Border Police aims to implement the measures targeting the border area included in the programmatic documents, the national strategies, as well as the community normative acts.

• Maintaining a high level of border security in order to prevent and combat illegal migration, respectively to counter smuggling with excisable and counterfeit products;
• Streamlining traffic through airport border points and those on the border with Hungary and Bulgaria, respectively;
• Carrying out activities limited to large-scale projects, at European level EES and ETIAS, EUROSUR, SIS II;
• Ensuring the necessary support for the programming of actions financed from non-reimbursable external funds, related to the new financial framework 2021-2027;
• Continuation of the implementation process of projects financed from European Funds;
• Acquisition of the technical means necessary for the development of the operative missions provided in the programs financed by external non-reimbursable funds and budget;
• Building the headquarters of BPS Darabani, ETIAS National Unit and starting the modernization actions of SCOMAR;