Thousands of children have been subjected to police photography after arriving unaccompanied in the UK, according to new figures.
Operation Innerste began in 2018 in a bid to protect lone children coming to Britain from human trafficking, but campaigners say the Children Act already provides such protections.
From 2018 until 30 June 2022, 2,177 children aged between two and 18 years-old were “safeguarded” by the operation, according to freedom of information data obtained byThe Guardian.
Ahmed Aydeed from Duncan Lewis solicitors, told the newspaper: “Our clients have had their biometric data taken, without consenting and without an appropriate adult present. It’s a safeguarding operation that overreaches its authority, purpose and lacks safeguards.
“Most children ‘safeguarded’ under this operation do not have any support during the interview and may not have anyone to advise them; appropriate adults only attend where possible and there are no requirements for legal representatives to be present either.”
Operation Innerste guidance says the aim is to build rapport with the child and that the first authority involved, “usually the police”, will carry out a welfare operation and take photos. The Home Office denies claims that children’s fingerprints are taken as part of the process.
Benny Hunter, a youth worker and migrant rights campaigner, claims that in June 2022, a 16-year-old Eritrean boy who arrived in London from Calais in the back of a lorry was unnecessarily taken to a police station for Operation Innerste checks first, over being appropriately cared for by social services.
In a Twitter thread, Hunter raised concerns about how first responders to such incidents are now police and immigration enforcement over children’s social workers.
“This was a seriously vulnerable child whose welfare needs are being put second to the needs of the state to police and enforce immigration rules. Children are being policed before they can access child protection,” he said.
Patricia Durr, chief executive of anti-trafficking organisation Every Child Protected Against Trafficking (ECPAT UK), said: “ECPAT UK remains concerned at the numbers of and the disproportionately high rate that child victims of trafficking and unaccompanied children go missing.
“Requiring that unaccompanied children first go to the local police is not a safeguarding response, it is not in their best interests and is in contravention of statutory obligations and policy guidance.”
The Home Office said they do not comment on individual cases but a spokesperson added: “We make no apologies for safeguarding unaccompanied child asylum seekers, and it is completely inappropriate to suggest that police should not be part of this process.
“The police conduct vital safeguarding checks for unaccompanied child migrants who arrive into the UK. Information is shared with the Home Office and local authorities to support these children’s welfare.”
