Watchdog says force being applied ‘inconsistently, disproportionately, and without adequate justification’
Home Office contractors are over-using restraint in immigration detention centres and failing to tackle the toxic culture behind bars, according to the findings of a new watchdog report described as “deeply concerning”.
By Force of Habit: How the Use of Force in Immigration Detention Has Lost Sight of Necessity and Dignity was published by the Independent Monitoring Boards (IMB), which examines conditions in prisons and immigration detention centres. The findings revealed force being applied inconsistently, disproportionately, and without adequate justification, which it said undermined the dignity and welfare of highly vulnerable individuals.
It highlighted how routine handcuffing, particularly during hospital transfers, appeared to have become the default rather than the exception. In one case, a frail 70-year-old man was handcuffed despite paperwork noting no evidence of risk. The report describes the practice of only allowing detainees to be taken to hospital if they were handcuffed as “a form of coercion”.
The report comes at a time when the government has pledged to expand immigration detention so it can deport more people.
