Detention in the migration process – A costly measure without clear governance

This audit shows that neither the Swedish Migration Agency nor the Swedish Police Authority has established adequate conditions for effective and legally certain detention decisions. Although the number of immigration detention places are limited, the government agencies do not work strategically on prioritising in which cases detention is to be used. As a result, people are sometimes released from detention to make room for more pressing cases.

This is partly due to inadequate guidance, and partly because the Swedish Migration Agency and the Swedish Police Authority lack systematic monitoring of the use of detention and the effectiveness of using this measure. Government agencies are thus unable to prioritise their measures based on effectiveness. There is thus a risk of unjustifiably high costs for the central government and unnecessary personal suffering.

Detention activities largely feature chains of dependency whereby one government agency is dependent on another to perform its remit. Effective collaboration is therefore essential for the operations to function effectively as a whole. Nevertheless, there is a lack of collaboration between the responsible government agencies in several key respects concerning detention. The Swedish Migration Agency is dependent on the Swedish Police Authority in searching for, detaining and transporting individuals to detention centres following a decision. However, the Swedish Migration Agency’s request for assistance is not always prioritised by the police. This impedes the Swedish Migration Agency’s ability to enforce its detention decisions, which can remain unaddressed for months and be revoked in some cases. Meanwhile, individuals may have absconded.

There are also no clear procedures on the distribution of detention places among government agencies, which has led to an informal arrangement whereby the Swedish Police Authority is given priority to the detention centres, regardless of the needs. These shortcomings lead to inefficient processes, protracted lead times and a risk of reduced success in work on returning aliens.

The Swedish Migration Agency has not ensured that operating activities at its detention centres function sufficiently well. Enforcement and control measures are routinely carried out in violation of the regulations, and detention centres do not always meet the requirements in terms of activities for detainees. In addition, detention centres’ design and standard vary significantly, which in turn affects living environment and security solutions.

These shortcomings are partly due to the agency’s inadequate governance of its operations. The Swedish Migration Agency has not set any clear targets for operating activities at the detention centres and has not systematically monitored the centres, in terms of either the operational quality or cost progression. The shortcomings also stem from the Swedish Migration Agency not having secured skills supply that meets the needs. There are challenges in terms of recruiting and retaining the right skills, especially when it comes to detention supervisors. These staff are also not offered continuing professional development at the pace required by the operations. Taken together, this has led to a training backlog, thus increasing the risk of incidents and deficiencies in the treatment of detainees.