by Chief Inspector Andy Bartlett, Cambridgeshire Constabulary

❝Due to the success of the Foreign Nationals pilot in Peterborough, it has now been rolled out across the whole force.

Our work with the UKBA has been made more effective and efficient since using ECINS for this area of business and we are able to be more proactive as a result. The Foreign Nationals gallery came about as part of a larger custody project to encourage offenders to seek a different path and isn’t just focused on Eastern and Central Europeans. We have had people come into custody from countries including Zimbabwe and Afghanistan in connection with crime such as rape and GBH in their own country and we have put into place a stepped process to manage these offenders on ECINS. First we assess the seriousness of their crime and whether we need to immediately repatriate them or take steps to remind them of their treaty rights and nudge them in the right direction.

This new way of working has speeded up our processes around arrests. New cases on ECINS are flagged up to the UKBA and, rather than wait for offenders to come into custody, they immediately advise us if they want an individual detained due to them not exercising their treaty rights. As a result of working in this way we have removed 63 offenders from the country.❞