Be attentive – be safe!

 

Ticket from Latvia to Vietnam with the smallest package of travel offers does not reach up to 3000 euros. Ticket from Vietnam to Latvia, without a tourist package, in one direction and possibly for a lifetime – 8000 Euro! Don’t get involved in this asymmetric “tourism business”! Don’t let it expand in Latvia! Both the border guard and the police have repeatedly acknowledged that the border area of Latgale is a huge temptation and an object of interest to smugglers and illegal immigrants. It turns out that figures can give you a false impression. If 106 of violators of illegal “green” borders were arrested on the eastern border of Latvia in 2017, then in the first half of this year the State Border Guard detained 101 illegal immigrants. However, in terms of numbers, immigrants become less. The number of large imprisoned immigrants was caused by the effectiveness of the border guard operation. Thanks to the efforts of the security authorities, investment in new technologies and successful cross-border cooperation, the flow of illegal traffic has been greatly reduced.

From the point of view of illegal immigration, the most dangerous is the border between Latvia and Russia. People cross the border illegally mostly in places where it is very difficult to move, they are exhausted, cold, hungry and emotionally aggravated. Often, these people, after crossing the border, are trying to look for a place where they can unnoticed to heat, change clothes and eat. The local people have assessed the efforts of the border guards, and there is an enormous number of cases where local people report directly to border guards about the movement of strangers or foreign cars and this has really helped to identify illegal immigrants – 90 percent of them were detained right after crossing the “green” border in the border zone or after persecution near the border area. The State Police emphasizes the importance of involving local people. Then more observational eyes we have, the more secure our life in the border area will be. Look and speak!

Latvia and Lithuania are currently implementing an ambitious, more than half a million euros project “Creation of a synergy platform for the public security in the Latvian and Lithuanian Eastern border territories” involving Latvian and Lithuanian law enforcement agencies – Police and Border Guard, as well as four municipalities located at the intersection of strategic roads between Latvia and Belarus and Latvian-Russian borders.

 

INTERREG V-A Latvia-Lithuania Programme project LLI-082 “Creation of a synergy platform for the public security in the Latvian and Lithuanian Eastern border territories”.

Budget: 580 236,21 EUR  85% ERDF funding, 15% national co-financing (incl. state co-financing – 5% in LV, 7,5% in LT) Duration: 36 MONTHS (May 17, 2017-November 16, 2019) The project is co-financed by the Latvia-Lithuania programme. Project Lead partner is latvian State police.