According to a report by The Independent, new information clarifies four secret prison facilities in France that are operated by the United Kingdom.
More than 9,000 migrants trying to reach Britain were detained at UK-run detention facilities in France last year, according to “alarming” new statistics. According to the French Ministry of Interior, France has a total of 22 administrative detention sites (LRA).
From July 2023 to June 2024, 9,139 people were detained at the short-term holding facilities close to Calais and Dunkirk, based on data obtained by The Independent.
The UK Border Force, in collaboration with contractor Mitie Care and Custody, operates the four locations: Calais Tourist, Coquelles Freight, Coquelles Tourist, and Dunkirk. They house people who were discovered concealed in commercial lorries or who have traveled to French ferry ports in cars and coaches. Stopped individuals may be detained at the locations for a maximum of 24 hours before being released to French law enforcement or permitted to resume their travel to the United Kingdom.
Detention Facilities: Ambiguous Legal Procedures
The Detention Forum, a non-profit network, has characterized the locations as “legal and procedural grey zones” with “a lack of clarity, transparency and, potentially, adherence to domestic and international human rights obligations.”
Details on the locations have been “shrouded in secrecy,” according to Steve Smith, CEO of the refugee charity Care4Calais. He said, “Only now are we starting to learn the true scale of detentions taking place.” “These detentions are occurring without accountability,” he continued. The authority that is holding thousands of people at the UK-France border, the length of their detention, the conditions under which they are being held, and the fate of their fingerprints and personal data are all unknown. “Come clean about the hostile environment they are funding in France,” Mr. Smith asked the authorities.
Separate statistics from July 2022 to June 2023 reveal that 6,915 individuals—or 576 per month on average—had been held at the locations. Given that some people may be detained more than once, this figure differs from the total number of detentions reported.
Since information on the detentions at these four locations is not included in the government’s official statistics, independent organizations have charged the Home Office with a “deeply concerning lack of transparency.” They have not been granted access since the Independent Monitory Board (IMB) conducted an inspection of the sites in 2018–19.
Concerns about safeguarding at the locations have already been voiced by inspectors. The amount of safeguarding referrals that Border Force had made to UK agencies for vulnerable detainees at the facilities was not disclosed by the Home Office in May of last year. Additionally, the Home Office said that it was unsure of the number of Border Force officers with modern slavery and safeguarding training at the sites.