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PSNI officers in Lisburn city centre. File photo by Kelvin Boyes, Press Eye
TENS of thousands of migrant victims and witnesses of crime, including those subjected to racist attacks and domestic abuse, were reported by the PSNI to the UK immigration authorities over a five-year period.
The Detail can reveal that, between October 2018 and March 2023, police reported an estimated 29 victims and witnesses of crime each day to the Home Office.
All immigrants who came in contact with police were routinely reported, even though the PSNI previously told several organisations, including migrant groups, that it did not pass on information, in accordance with its own guidelines.
The PSNI said it stopped its policy of automatically sharing victims’ data with the Home Office in March last year following a review prompted by reporting by The Detail.
Before the change, police were reporting around 40 people to the Home Office every day, including an estimated 29 victims and witnesses of crime and 11 suspects.
A letter from the PSNI to the Policing Board, seen by The Detail, stated that since the policy change, police are now reporting around 11 suspects every day.
One migrant, who did not wish to be named, was a victim of several racist attacks during the time police were sharing data.
“I think it will make some people scared to report to the police,” he told The Detail.
“Whenever they become victims, this (data sharing) might trigger more issues for them.
“So that might make him a double victim.”
PSNI Assistant Chief Constable Bobby Singleton. File photo from Press Eye
PSNI Assistant Chief Constable Bobby Singleton wrote that police had previously reassured concerned groups that it did not share victims’ data with immigration authorities.
“On the basis of this guidance we had previously provided assurances to a number of local external stakeholders that we did not routinely share victim data with the Home Office,” he wrote.
However, he said that a series of articles in The Detail last year showed that “a significant level of data sharing with (the) Home Office was taking place”.
Geraldine Hanna, the Commissioner Designate for Victims of Crime Northern Ireland, said she was “deeply concerned by the admission, and the revelation, in the letter to the Board”.
“You'd like to think that the police's publicly stated policy position is reflective of their practice,” she said.
“I don't believe that (the PSNI) showered themselves in glory in terms of how they’ve approached this issue.”
Ms Hanna welcomed the PSNI’s review of its policy but said “there's going to be a journey that needs to be travelled in terms of rebuilding trust”.
Eliza Browning, from human rights group the Committee of Administration of Justice (CAJ), said she was startled by the number of people whose data was shared.
“The scale of this data sharing is clearly far wider than we originally thought, and it is extremely concerning that this was allowed to happen for so long without PSNI leadership being aware of it,” she said.
Ms Browning said police had “done the right thing” in stopping automatic data sharing with the Home Office.
Tawassul Mohammed, who works for the Participation and Practice of Rights (PPR) charity, said the revelations had damaged migrants’ confidence in policing.
“Unfortunately families seeking safety do face racist abuse and hate crime,” she said.
“The actions of the PSNI in sharing data with the UK Home Office will degrade victims’ trust and confidence in coming forward to the police, at a time when they most need a thorough and impartial investigation.”
Twasul Mohammed from Participation and Practice of Rights. File photo by The Detail
Review
Last year, The Detail revealed that police forces across the UK, including the PSNI, had shared data on migrant victims of crime with the Home Office.
A PSNI review found that it was the force’s practice to share information on all non-UK nationals who encountered police, even if they were a victim or witness of crime.
In the letter to board, ACC Singleton said the practice was implemented in response to a UK-wide policy between police and the Home Office, known as ‘Operation Nexus’ which sought to “identify Foreign National Offenders who meet the criteria for deportation”.
He added: “The breadth of automated tasking for Operation Nexus in particular has undoubtedly led to unnecessary sharing of victim and witness data with the Home Office.”
When asked by The Detail, police said they have no information on whether victims whose information was shared were later arrested or deported.
“This lack of data was one of the major issues identified by the review,” a PSNI spokesman said.
Police said that they stopped automatically sharing data on victims of crime in March last year.
ACC Singleton told The Detail the force is treating the issue “extremely seriously.”
“We are aware that victims of crime with insecure or uncertain immigration status are fearful that, if they report crime to the police, their information will be shared with the Home Office,” he said.
“The issue is one that has raised concerns nationally for many years.”
He said police are developing a new policy on how to handle migrants’ data.
“Going forward there will be further major changes to how we use the data of foreign national victims and witnesses as well as to when, how and how often we engage with the Home Office,” he said.