Developing an innovative model of an alternative to detention for young migrants at risk of absconding or re-offending

Experience from the UK

What is the problem you want to address?

• Which group of migrants can realistically be got out of detention?• Where is the harm of detention greatest?• Is there public or civil society pressure or campaigning on a particular group?• Does the government recognise that any group should not be in detention?• What skills and experience do you and partner organisations have to meet needs in the community?

The problem in the UK

• It is easier to talk about young people (under 30) than ex-offenders in general

• Indefinite detention without time limit – mostly of ex-offenders• Detention Action has extensive experience working and campaigning with ex-offenders

How does the government justify detention?

• Can the policy objectives of detention be met in the community?• Discussing voluntary return can meet states’ returns priorities.• But return is not the only objective of detention.

Step 1 CAP: What evidence could undermine those justifications for detention?

• In the UK, evidence that, with support, migrants considered ‘high risk’ by the Home Office don’t abscond or reoffend

Step 2: What are the strengths and issues of the migrants you want to get out of detention?

• What challenges to migrants face in the community? E.g. homelessness, destitution, mental health problems.

• What strengths do this group of people in detention share?

• In the UK, many have a strong desire to share their stories of indefinite detention and be heard as people

Step 3: What are the strengths and gaps in the community setting for migrants?

• What support and services are available in the community?

• Can you help ex-detainees to access this support?

• What support can your organisation provide directly?

The “Freed Voices” Community Support Project

• Case management to cope outside and access services• Training on life skills• Training on campaigning by telling their stories of injustice in detention • Opportunities to speak out at public meetings and in mainstream and online media

If you can, pilot

• We piloted the campaigns training and support • This helped us to identify the need for much more structured case management support

Get funding

• Pitch to funders the need for an “alternative to detention” that will influence the global debate…

• Funders like small local projects that can have international

Engage civil society and NGO partners

• Make sure others understand what you are doing• They may be able to advise you or help you to disseminate the results• Maybe you can influence them to develop other alternatives projects meeting different needs

Find ways to influence policy-makers

• Governments are more likely to speak to you when you have results and evidence

• You can show that you are addressing their priorities, not just your values

• If government won’t engage, find other targets– In the UK, we plan to use the evidence to get

individuals released on bail by the courts, while we work on getting government to engage.

Have a strategy!

• How does your evidence fit into a wider strategy to change detention policy?• We are lobbying the Liberal Democrats to commit to putting a time limit on detention.• They are frightened of seeming soft on immigration, but might feel emboldened if we can show that alternatives to detention are more effective than indefinite detention.

Developing an innovative model of an alternative to detention for young migrants at risk of absconding or re-offending

Detention Action