This book examines the smuggling of migrants and trafficking of human beings in the EU with a comparative analysis of how British and Italian law has approached the issues. It will be a valuable resource for academics and students working in the areas of migration, refugee, criminal justice and EU law as well as policy-makers and practitioners working with refugee and immigration issues.

This book examines the smuggling of migrants and trafficking in human beings in the EU with a comparative analysis of how British and Italian law has approached the issues. The work also analyzes the role of cooperation between the police and judiciary in combating criminal organizations involved in these crimes. The author draws on evidence from the Italian cities of Rimini and Siracusa and from the Italian transit island of Lampedusa to show how an innovative approach can help provide solutions to the problems arising from this sort of criminal activity. The result is a valuable resource for academics and students working in the areas of migration, refugee, criminal justice and EU law. Policy-makers and practitioners working with refugee and immigration issues will also find much of interest in this book.

'The strength of the book lies in its convincingly argued thesis that the intensification and expansion of policing activities in and across the Mediterranean and the efforts to externalise border controls cannot reduce smuggling and trafficking unless those victimised in the course of migrating are protected by receiving states... Ventrella offers an up-to-date and thought-provoking discussion of the shortcomings of the current approach to irregular migration in the European Union as well as of the many ways in which the Union's growing scope for action impacts on its Member States in this area... the book is an interesting contribution to the increasingly crowded field of migration-related studies and will be worthy of note for students looking for detailed coverage of the European Union's action in this area as well as for policy-makers interested in the European Union's expanding role on policing and immigration policy.' European Law Review