FOI 307-24 Asylum Seekers

Enquiry Reference:  307 - 24                                                                                       

 

I write in connection with regards to your Freedom of Information request.  Below is your request and our response.

 

1/ can you confirm that when an asylum/refugee opens within your forces area the Police/Fire Brigade/local NHS all 3 services pay a visit to each hotel being used by the Home Office, where they are offered a priority service to them should they need to contact you.

Cleveland Police’s Crime Prevention team will attend and assist with target hardening when made aware of new premises, in response to incidents and where requested. When notified by the Local Authority of planning requests, we assist with risk assessments based on Police data alongside design out crime advice.

Neighbourhood teams assist with the above risk assessments when notified of new premises.

The Force Engagement Teamwork with premises in respect of Community Engagement work and the Complex Exploitation team take ownership of NRM investigations and will work with providers. Alongside Neighbourhood Officers, both teams will engage with subjects during facilities and groups attended by Asylum Seeker communities.

Appropriate contact details and points of contact are provided to premises to ensure they can reach the right people quickly, with reciprocal details obtained to ensure effective information flow. 

 

2/ as your force has arranged a priority service to each hotel, can you confirm that your force is fully aware of the location of every hotel within your forces area.

No priority service.

Cleveland Police record details of locations and subjects where information is provided to them by agencies.

We maintain a Key Individual Network, with details of premises and key persons held to facilitate effective collaboration.

 

3/ as your force is fully aware that these hotels are solely for the accommodation of refugees/asylum seekers can you confirm your forces computer records are checked you will be aware of the number of times these hotels have been attended by your force, you will have records that are easily checked for the type of offences you attended for, so you will know what offensives asylum seekers/refugees have been involved in.

No information held. We do not have an asylum seeker marker to retrieve the information requested.

The Cleveland Police response to your request is unique and it should be noted that Police Forces do not use generic systems or identical procedures to capture and record data therefore responses from Cleveland Police should not be used as a comparison with any other force response you receive.

 

If you are not satisfied with this response or any actions taken in dealing with your request, you have the right to request an independent internal review of your case under our review procedure. The APP College of Policing guidance states that a request for internal review should be made within 20 working days of the date on this response or 40 working days if extenuating circumstances to account for the delay can be evidenced.

 

Yours sincerely

 

Information Rights Decision Maker