The evolution of immigration detention in the UK: the involvement of private prison companies
Christine Bacon
This paper looks at how the privatisation of immigration detention centres has affected the evolution of the immigration detention regime in the UK. It argues that the privatisation of immigration detention centres can be directly linked to the growth of the detention estate, the willingness to detain despite clear principles and rules limiting its use, the secrecy and lack of accountability inherent in immigration detention, and in some respects, the move towards increasingly harsh detention policy and practice. It concludes that the implications of privatisation of immigration detention centres are of grave concern and that at the very least, boundaries as to the extent of private involvement and the capacity of detention space should be clearly defined.