Immigration Matters Asylum Seekers And Refugees ... - Dorset Police

An Asylum Seeker would include the following:
A person who enters this country, claiming refugee status and applies to the Home
Secretary for Political Asylum.
Dealing with an Illegal Entrant
Should an officer in the course of his duties encounter a person whom they
reasonably suspect as being an illegal entrant, that person should be detained and
conveyed to the nearest police station. Contact should be made with the Special
Branch Desk Officer who will liase with the Immigration Service and arrange for
their attendance at the Police Station.
Dealing with an Asylum Seeker
The Immigration Service will serve an individual claiming asylum with the
necessary Immigration forms. Fingerprints, photographs, and temporary
admission can be granted while an investigation is carried out. During this
investigation the subject may be required to sign on at a nominated Police Station,
not unlike bail conditions. These are known as Enforcement Distribution
Directorate (EDD) cases and the appropriate Enquiry Office will have all the
necessary paperwork. (Form IS96NW).
If people voluntarily present themselves to a Police Station to claim asylum, the
Special Branch Desk Officer should be contacted in the first instance. The
Immigration Service will be contacted, if they are not available, the subject should
be directed to ‘The Public Caller Unit, 1 st Floor, Block B. Whitgift Centre, Croydon.’
Request for Police Assistance
Primacy for the identification and removal of Immigration Offenders lies with the
Immigration Service, however the Police Service are committed to support them in
this responsibility.
All operations will be based on confirmed intelligence and executed in
consideration of the aforementioned risk assessments and authorisations,
arrangements for assistance will be made after consultation with the Divisional
Commander.
Detainees will be conveyed in Police transport to the local Police Station where
the Immigration Service will continue with their enquiries.
The Immigration Service may have an Operation where a large number of
offenders may be found, or where the apprehension of an offender /offenders is
likely to attract particular public, media or Parliamentary interest. These sensitive
Operations are authorised by the Director (Enforcement) of the Immigration
Service, and the authority of a Police Superintendent is required.
3