UK report criticizes Border Force’s failure to seize fakes

The Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration has criticized UK officials for not seizing small packages of counterfeits.

Chief Inspector John Vine and his team observed border officials letting small amounts of counterfeit goods into the country. While Vine notes pragmatism and enforcement discretion have a place, he was nonetheless critical of the decision to let fakes in, especially given that it goes against current guidance.

“The use of discretion removes the decision to take civil court action away from the rights holder. It is the rights holder’s decision whether a prosecution should be mounted, not Border Force’s,” the Chief Inspector wrote in a report detailing the findings of his four-month inspection of customs controls.

Border Force staff defended their decision to overlook small volumes of counterfeits on the grounds that it frees up resources to tackle problems they perceive as being more serious, such as Class A drugs. The attitude may explain why, as of January 2013, the force was 23 per cent below its non-postal fake seizure target.