Police officers monitor and manage small ports from a number of locations and are co-ordinated from Police Service of Northern Ireland Headquarters.
They primarily deal with:
- Reports of any unusual or suspicious activity at any of Northern Ireland’s small ports
- Flights that use non-designated airports within Northern Ireland to fly from, or to, other parts of the Common Travel Area (CTA) which consists of Great Britain, Channel Islands, Isle of Man and the Republic of Ireland.
(A small port includes, among others, all air strips, flying clubs, harbours, marinas, yacht clubs, estuaries, boat yards and slipways.)
Northern Ireland’s small ports may be an attractive means to facilitate criminal activity, for example:
- The movement of weapons or explosives
- Human trafficking
- Drugs importation
The Small Ports Unit works to deny criminals the use of our small ports by encouraging all members of the public, operators, pilots, passengers and boat owners to be vigilant regarding potential breaches of national security and any matter that they think may relate to terrorism or crime.
This is done by working closely with you, the public, and the National Crime Agency, Border Force and Crimestoppers in supporting the two UK national projects:
- Kraken (sea)
- Pegasus (air)
Both these projects promote security awareness at our small sea and air ports throughout the United Kingdom.