Force can be used on people detained under immigration powers, both by Detention Custody Officers in IRCs and by escort staff during removals. Rule 41 of the Detention Centre Rules 2001 says that force shall not be used “unnecessarily”, and that “no more force than is necessary shall be used”. Home Office policy permits force if it is “necessary”, “reasonable” and “proportionate to the threat being faced or the intended aim”. The excessive use of force is unlawful. Where force is used, the detail of the use of force should be recorded and reported to the Secretary of State.
The perfect storm for the conditions that give rise to the abuse and mistreatment of vulnerable people continue to exist within detention. These include the complex healthcare needs people in detention tend to have, that detention can exacerbate these existing conditions and be the cause of mental illness, and the safeguards designed to protect these people from entering or remaining in detention are dysfunctional. These factors, coupled with the fact that staff lack therapeutic tools, often fail to de-escalate incidents and treat distressed behaviour as refractory, result in an inevitable recourse to coercive measures, such as force, to manage mentally unwell detained people.
