PSO 4630 - Inside Time

PSO 4630 Page 7Local policy for managing Foreign National Prisoners1.18 Mandatory Action: All prisons must have a local policy for managing foreign nationalprisoners. Where the numbers of foreign national prisoners are significant, it maybe appropriate to have a Foreign National Committee to supervise the policy.Bail and bail information2.1 Foreign nationals are eligible for bail and should be provided with appropriate legal adviceas for other defendants remanded in custody. Bail information schemes should not excluderemand prisoners who are or who may be foreign nationals. (PSO 6101 Bail InformationScheme).2.2 In most local prisons new receptions are told about the bail information scheme as a groupand it would be inappropriate and unnecessary to separate out foreign nationals at thatstage. If they then seek help with bail it would be unlawful not to engage or to refuse helpon the basis that they were foreign nationals. However it is important to ensure that aforeign national prisoner is identified as such for the courtMANDATORY2.3 Therefore bail information staff must:identify defendants who are or who may be foreign nationals; andinclude information on nationality and immigration in the bail information report tothe CPS/court2.4 Where bail information is to be provided to a court in respect of a prisoner who is known orbelieved to be a foreign national the bail information officer should ask the prisoner whatnationality he or she is and seek to verify that information through BIA.2.5 The bail information officer should obtain from BIA information on the prisoner‟s immigrationstatus and/or confirmation that BIA have no interest in the defendant that would preventrelease on bail. That information on nationality and immigration should then be included inthe report.MANDATORY2.6 Where there is reason to suspect that the prisoner is a foreign national but nationalitycannot be verified and BIA cannot provide information in time for the next court appearancethe bail information report must record that “nationality and immigration status have notbeen verified”.2.7 These arrangements apply to all foreign nationals including EEA nationals.Legal status of immigration cases.3.1 An immigration detainee is a person detained under the Immigration Acts.3.2 Foreign National Prisoners may be subject to Immigration control whilst on remand,convicted but unsentenced or serving a custodial sentence. This means that a subject isdetained sequentially; first by remand or conviction by the courts and then upon expiry ofcustodial sentence under an IS91 served by the Border and Immigration Agency.Issue No 287 Issue date 11/01/08