Security information reports (accessible version)
Updated 10 May 2024
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Detention Services Order 11/2014
May 2024
Document Details
Process:
To provide instructions and operational guidance for contracted service providers and Home Office staff operating in Immigration Removal Centres, Pre-departure Accommodation and Residential Short-term Holding Facilities, on the completion and management of Security Information Reports (SIRs).
Publication Date: May 2024
Implementation Date: October 2012 (reissued May 2024)
Review Date: May 2026
Version: 4.1
Contains Mandatory Instructions
For Action: All Home office staff and contracted service providers operating in immigration removal centres, pre-departure accommodation and residential short-term holding facilities, in addition to, escorting suppliers.
Author and Unit: Dean Foulkes, Detention Services.
Owner: Michelle Smith, Head of Detention Operations
Contact Point: Detention Services Orders Team.
Processes Affected: All processes relating to the completion and management of SIRs.
Assumptions: All staff will have the necessary knowledge to follow these procedures.
Notes: This DSO replaces DSO 07/2006 and 17/2007, which are cancelled.
Instruction
Introduction
1. This Detention Services Order (DSO) provides instructions and operational guidance for all contracted service providers and Home Office staff operating in Immigration Removal Centres (IRCs), Pre-departure Accommodation (PDA) and Residential Short-term Holding Facilities (RSTHFs), in addition to escorting suppliers, on the completion and access to Security Information Reports (SIRs).
2. For this instruction, references to “centre” include IRCs, RSTHFs and the Gatwick PDA.
3. This instruction does not apply to Residential Holding Rooms (RHRs) or non-residential short-term holding facilities.
4. Two separate Home Office teams operate in IRCs:
- Detention Services Compliance team (Compliance team)
- Detention Engagement team (DET)
The Compliance team are responsible for all on-site commercial and contract monitoring work. The DETs interact with detained individuals face-to-face within the IRCs, on behalf of responsible officers within the IRCs. They focus on communicating and engaging with people detained at IRCs, serving paperwork on behalf of caseworkers, and helping them to understand their cases and reasons for detention.
There are no DETs at RSTHFs, or the Gatwick PDA. Some of the functions which are the responsibility of the DET in IRCs, are instead conducted by the contracted service provider and overseen by the International and Returns Services (IRS) Escorting Contract Monitoring Team (ECMT) in RSTHFs. In the Gatwick PDA, the local Compliance Team cover the role of detained individual engagement.
Purpose
5. This DSO will ensure that all Home Office and contracted service provider staff working across the immigration removal estate, are fully aware of the importance of providing timely and credible information on the safety and security of the estate. This order also clarifies who is entitled to have access to the SIRs on detained individuals in their care.
Procedures
6. SIRs are written by any member of staff who has information of value to the security of the estate. They are collected by the contracted service provider and are fundamental to the dynamic intelligence process collated by the Security Department.
7. SIRs should be stored securely in the security office where they are filed. Counter Terrorism (CT) referrals should be uploaded to the Intelligence Management System (IMS) the same day they are received to prevent delays in CT colleagues obtaining this information (DSO 01/2015 Extremism and Radicalisation refers). In addition to the contracted service provider, they are also available to the Home Office Immigration Enforcement (HOIE) duty directors, duty on-call senior managers operating within the HOIE Detention Services Security Team, Detention Services Intelligence Team, and the Professional Standards Unit (as part of an investigation). In IRCs, they should also be available for inspection by the onsite Compliance manager and their deputies operating in each centre.
8. SIRs should be completed on the SIR template attached at Annex A, clearly indicating the security issues and actions taken, whilst ensuring it is properly graded using the correct rating. It is important that SIRs are submitted promptly to enable local Security Departments to analyse the information and establish emerging trends.
9. The IRC contracted service providers will send a Weekly Intelligence Report to DS Security, DETs and on-site Compliance teams, highlighting all SIRs in the following categories (as a minimum):
- Disorder
- Drugs
- Mobile Phones
- Other illicit articles
- Violence/ Safer Detention
- Counter Terrorism
- Public/ Child Protection
- Escape Abscond
- Miscellaneous (relevant information impacting threat)
10. The reporting period for Weekly Intelligence Reports will cover Sunday - Saturday each week. Reports require submission by 09:00 on Mondays, following the reporting period.
11. IRCs and/or the contracted service provider can request intelligence for Time Served Foreign National Offender (TSFNO) residents for custodial periods. This is done using a Mercury Intel Request Form.
12. Any SIRs submitted by IRC staff that are related to Counter Terrorism (CT) information, will also generate a CT Referral. CT Referrals should be managed in line with the CT Strategy.
13. Any SIR that relates to a detained individual being defrauded, should also be sent to the Home Office Internal Investigations Referrals Team.
Revision History
| Review date | Reviewed by | Review outcome | Next review |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 2016 | F Hardy | Reformatting, update to handling codes, inclusion of scam reference and new Annex A format | Nov 2018 |
| Nov 2018 | J Andrews | Update referral process to send to DEST. Annex A updated. | Nov 2020 |
| May 2024 | N Loftus, M Mooney | Updated to reflect: •The roll out of Home Office teams and individual responsibilities •Terminology changes from centre supplier to contracted service provider •The addition of weekly intelligence submission and mercury intel request form •The addition of SIR actions |
May 2026 |