NCJ Number
148857
Date Published
1993
Length
105 pages
Annotation
This study observes the activities of French border police and customs officers in their fight against illegal immigration and presents a sociological profile of the two police branches.
Abstract
The information was obtained through direct observation at the French border with Belgium and England, and through taped interviews with representative members of each branch. The French Air and Border Police patrols border crossings, air-ports, and harbors in search of illegal immigrants; inside France, it also investigates violations of immigration laws such as arranged marriages to French nationals and illegal workers. The customs officers do not only inhibit the movement of illegal goods across the borders, but they also intercept illegal immigrants as they inspect travel documents and search suspicious individuals. The detailed sociological analysis of each of the two police branches includes information on police organization, age, gender, level of education, reasons for joining the police force, and attitudes toward each professional activity. Although members of both branches expressed predominantly positive attitudes toward their profession, they were frustrated and concerned about the emerging borderfree Europe. The study concludes that this specific, up-to-date information about two rarely studied police branches will help in the process of adpating police activities to a Europe without border patrols. 19 bibliographical references.