Trandum Police Immigration Detention Centre (Read full CPT report)
38. The delegation carried out a follow-up visit33 to Trandum Police Immigration Detention
Centre (hereinafter: “Trandum Detention Centre”), which remains the only immigration detention
centre in Norway.34 The current policy in Norway is to accommodate asylum-seekers only in open
reception centres; thus, Trandum Detention Centre functions primarily as a removal centre.
39. Since the 2011 visit, the relevant legal framework, which is set out in Sections 106 to 107 of
the Immigration Act35 and the Detention Centre Regulations,36 as well as in General Instructions for
the Police Immigration Detention Centre (hereinafter: “General Instructions”)37 and Internal
Guidelines,38 has undergone certain changes. In particular, the list of legal grounds for immigration
detention has been extended significantly and the criteria for assessing the risk of absconding have
been specified.39 Further, according to a recent amendment,40 foreign nationals who are minors
(whether accompanied or not) may be deprived of their liberty under aliens legislation for up to
24 hours and, with the approval of a court, for up to 72 hours; only under exceptional circumstances
may their detention be extended twice for 72 hours. Thus, the maximum detention period for minors
is now nine days.41 As regards adults, the maximum detention periods remain unchanged. As a general rule, immigration detention shall not exceed twelve weeks.42 Under certain circumstances (e.g. refusal of a foreign national to co-operate with the immigration authorities or delays in obtaining necessary
documents from the authorities of another country), the detention period may be extended to
a maximum of 18 months. That said, it is matter of concern that the Norwegian legislation does not provide for any time limit for the detention of foreign nationals who are subjected to a judicial expulsion order as a penalty or special sanction and that the persons concerned may thus be detained for
an indeterminate period after having served a prison sentence. The CPT recommends that
the Norwegian authorities introduce an absolute time limit for such cases.
40. Since the 2011 visit, Trandum Detention Centre has been enlarged and the official capacity
increased from 70 to 220 places. At the time of the visit, the Centre was accommodating 63 adult
foreign nationals (57 men and six women; representing 29 different nationalities). The Centre now counted three accommodation buildings (“Modules”), divided into several detention units. At the time of the visit, nearly all male foreign nationals were accommodated in Module 1, while Module 2 was not in use. Module 3 comprised inter alia a unit for female detainees, as well as a new security unit (Unit S – see paragraphs 51 to 56). The delegation was informed that, as a general rule, male detainees were allocated to different units depending on their expected length of stay (i.e. Module 3 for stays of up to two weeks, Module 1 for stays of more than two weeks), although, at the time of the visit, it appeared that units often accommodated a mix of short- and longer-term detainees. In recent years, the Centre had never operated at full capacity, despite the large number of admissions (i.e. some 4,800 in 2017 and more than 1,200 during the first five months of 2018).
The return rate, as well as the overall turnover at the Centre, was very high (nearly half of the
foreign nationals admitted in 2018 had been deported within three days of admission). In practice,
this meant that the vast majority of foreign nationals admitted to the Centre were rapidly returned
and spent only a short time in the Centre. However, on any given day, the majority of detainees
present in the Centre had been detained there for longer periods. At the time of the visit, more than
two thirds of those had spent more than three weeks in the Centre, including five who had been
detained for more than six months and another five for more than a year.
41. The Committee welcomes the fact that, in early 2018, the Norwegian authorities took
a policy decision to no longer accommodate families with children at Trandum Centre. Instead,
it was planned to construct a special detention facility for families with a design of a “more civilian
character”. Pending its construction, the authorities have created a temporary facility with
a capacity of two five-person families on the premises of a former resort in Hurdal (without fences
or locked doors), staffed by plain-clothed police officers and employees of the child welfare
services. The delegation was informed that no family was being held in that facility at the time of
the visit and that families would never be accommodated there for more than a couple of days prior
to their removal.
Unaccompanied minors apprehended by the police were usually promptly referred to
the competent child welfare authority. In recent years, such minors had reportedly been detained
and held at Trandum Centre only very rarely and for very short periods (on average, once a year for
up to 24 hours). According to the Norwegian authorities, it was planned to use the future special
facility for families for holding unaccompanied minors as well.
The CPT would like to receive updated information on the implementation of the above-mentioned plans. Further, the Committee urges the Norwegian authorities to put a definitive end
to the detention of unaccompanied minors at Trandum Centre; it also trusts that every effort
will be made to avoid resorting to the deprivation of liberty of any irregular migrant who is a minor.
