The Home Office was recently asked in Parliament how many occasions over the last two years their officers carried out dawn raids on asylum seekers accompanied by the police. Immigration minister Liam Byrne's answer was that the Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND) "do not conduct 'raids' against asylum seekers." Officers, he insisted, "undertake operational visits to detain and remove persons who no longer have the right to remain in the UK and do so in line with operational policy and guidance." Byrne, however, revealed that there were 8,865 and 13,953 police-supported 'operations' in 2005 and 2006 respectively, some of which, he said, "would have been undertaken early in the morning for operational reasons."
Mr Byrne was also asked how many police were involved in each case and who paid police overtime in those cases; under whose command police officers in dawn raids on asylum seekers are acting, and what their role is during such raids.
In 2001 the Home Office asked the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) for the support of the police service to assist with the arrest of 'immigration offenders', including unsuccessful asylum seekers. ACPO, on behalf of the police service, agreed to this request. There have been no known representations received from the police federation on the use of the police service to assist with enforcement operations.
Police officers apparently act at the request of IND with whom 'operational tasking' generally rests. The police role, Mr Byrne said, is "to enter, secure, search premises, detain suspects and maintain a safe environment." He also confirmed that "all Police Operational Support Unit (POSU) costs, which include overtime for all operations, are paid by IND."
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