Foreign prisoner row due to ‘chronic failure’
The foreign prisoner scandal that toppled Charles Clarke was merely a symptom of a “chronic failure” of the prison and immigration services, a damning new report warns.
Chief inspector of prisons Anne Owers says the discovery in May of 1,000 foreign nationals who had been released from jail without being considered for deportation was caused by the lack of any kind of national strategy for dealing with such inmates.
Mr Clarke was sacked as home secretary in the wake of the row, and his successor, John Reid, announced a radical shake-up of the whole department. He promised that all foreign nationals convicted of an imprisonable offence would be deported.
However, in today’s report Ms Owers says deporting foreign prisoners should not be the first priority. The main problem was identifying them in the first place, and then providing them with the support they needed.
“The deportation row was an acute symptom of the chronic failure of the prison and immigration services to develop and implement effective strategies for people who were not seen as a ‘problem’,” her report says.
In fact these people had many problems, including isolation and depression, Ms Owers says. They were largely caused by their distance from home and problems with language, which often meant they did not understand their situation.
Poor relations between prisoners and staff, and “extreme frustration” about a lack of support from the Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND) meant prisoners were often released without consideration for deportation, or deported too late.
Most prisons had no figures on how many foreign nationals were released into the community, and even when they did, the links with probation officers and other support staff were often ineffective.
“The message of this report is clear – the need for a well-managed and consistent strategy, built on timely and defensible decision-making in each individual case, properly focused support in and beyond prison, and efficient links with the immigration authorities,” Ms Owers said.
“That is the only approach that is workable, effective and humane for foreign national prisoners and the prison system as a whole.”
In a joint statement, immigration minister Liam Byrne and offender management minister Gerry Sutcliffe said today’s report confirmed Mr Reid’s assessment of the problem and argued “significant progress” had been made in his efforts to improve the system.
More than 1,000 foreign prisoners had been removed since May and prisoners were now being considered for deportation earlier in their sentence, they added.
However, shadow home secretary David Davis said: “For all the spin and bluster, the home secretary has still not brought the prison and the immigration services up to scratch.We need action not just tough talk.”
