‘56,000 foreign nationals have disappeared off radar’
TENS of thousands of foreign nationals including convicted criminals and illegal immigrants have disappeared off the Home Office’s radar, it has emerged.
At the end of last year, there were nearly 56,000 “declared absconders” – meaning authorities did not know their whereabouts, two reports from the immigration watchdog said.
More than 700 foreign national offenders (FNOs) were recorded as having absconded after being released into the community.
The assessments detail how about 80,000 people who are are liable to be removed from Britain are required to report to officials regularly rather than being held in detention while their case is determined.
The number includes those who have entered the country unlawfully, breached their original conditions of entry, face deportation as a result of committing a crime, and asylum seekers. Ministers acknowledged that parts of the reviews published by Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration David Bolt made for “difficult reading”. The reports warn there is “little evidence” that effective action is being taken to locate absconders; reveal foreign criminals can fail to attend meetings with staff on as many as 19 occasions before the alarm is raised; and detail how nearly a third of planned removals of criminals failed.
One inspection examined the effectiveness of the Home Office’s management of the “reporting population” – those who are notified of their liability for detention and removal from the UK.
The second focused on the regime for non-detained foreign national offenders towards their removal from the UK.
If there is no immediate prospect of deportation or removal, a foreign offender who has completed their custodial sentence may be released into the community.
Latest official figures showed there were 5,728 FNOs who were subject to deportation action living in the community.