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28/07/05
UK Chief Inspector of Prisons condemns condition of minors held
at Yarl's Wood Immigration Removal Centre
This report shows once again the bad conditions that asylum
seekers in Britain face in detention centres. Especially
worrying is the detention of vulnerable persons such as
children. Click here to see JRS' research, opinions and campaigns on this issue
across Europe.
Report on an announced inspection of Yarl's Wood Immigration
Removal Centre 28 February – 4 March 2005
by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons Ann Owers. Includes Home
Office summary and comments.
Media Coverage around the Report
Children 'damaged' by detention at immigration centre
Guardian Newspaper, Wednesday July 27th, 2005.
The largest detention centre for asylum seekers needs to take
urgent action to ensure the safety of its resident women and
children, according to an inspection report published today.
It found that although the Yarls Wood immigration removal centre
in Bedfordshire housed only women and family groups, staff
training and in-house protocols did not meet the needs of the
detainees.
The prisons inspector, Anne Owers, responsible for monitoring
the centre, reported that there were implications for safety,
"which needed urgently to be addressed".
Yarls Wood came to national attention after detainees rioted in
2002, resulting in part of the centre being burned down only
weeks after it opened. The centre was re-opened in 2003. The
inspection was undertaken during February and March this year.
Ms Owers was "particularly concerned" about the welfare of its
children detainees. The inspection found that education for
older children was inadequate and that some children were being
"damaged" by detention.
The report cites the case of the five-year-old autistic child
who had not eaten properly for four days. Three children had
been sent to the centre just before their GCSE exams. Two of
those children were released following the inspection. However,
Owers wrote, "damage had already been done, and the systems in
place were simply inadequate to pick this up routinely".
She continued: "This underlines the recommendation that we have
repeatedly made: that the detention of children should be
exceptional and that there must be independent and immediate
welfare and needs assessments of each child."
Child protection procedures were lacking and it was found that
there was no evidence of joint planning between local social
services and the centre.
Those interned at Yarls Wood were twice as likely to report
feeling unsafe as in other centres for asylum seekers. While
two-thirds of the population, which the report notes is
significantly lower than at other centres, said that most staff
treated them with respect, one-third felt they were treated with
disrespect. African women in particular voiced the most negative
opinions about staff treatment.
A women's campaigning group, Legal Action for Women, claimed
that over 30 Ugandan women are on hunger strike at the centre in
protest of being sent back to their home country.
It said that women inside Yarls Wood have told them that racist
abuse from staff is a daily occurrence, for instance they claim
they are called "black monkeys" who "don't deserve to be here".
A co-ordinator at Legal Action for Women said: "We were really
pleased to read [Owers'] report as it confirmed what women had
been describing to us."
Yet the report also noted improvements at the immigration
removal centre, notably that fire safety systems were excellent
and, contrary to anecdotal evidence, staff were commended for
dealing positively and respectfully with detainees.
In response to the inspection report, Home Office minister Tony
McNulty said: "Since the inspection at the beginning of March, a
number of further steps have been taken which do go some way to
addressing a number of [the inspectorate's] specific concerns,
including improvements to educational provision at the centre,
and plans for a dedicated social worker who will be responsible
for welfare assessments as well as providing a vital link
between the centre and the local authority."
Mr McNulty added: "We recognise that detention of families with
children is an emotive issue and it is not something we do
lightly. Detention is used sparingly and for the shortest period
necessary. However, the power to detain is an essential part of
protecting the integrity of and public confidence in our
immigration controls."
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