RT Article
T1 Power and Purpose in an Immigration Removal Centre
JF The British journal of criminology
VO 64
IS 5
SP 1098
OP 1113
A1 Aitken, Dominic
LA English
YR 2024
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/190244695X
AB How is power manifest inside an immigration removal centre (IRC), and does the basic function of the institution align with staff’s sense of purpose? Drawing on interviews with employees at Brook House IRC, I argue that power is simultaneously present, absent and elsewhere. Staff acknowledge the presence of power in their ‘immigration prison’, but routinely feel an absence of authority, and note that decisions about immigration cases are made elsewhere. I then analyze how employees speak about the purpose of their work, which they see as providing both security and welfare. I conclude that the twin realities of power and purpose, security and welfare, create a dilemma for staff, IRCs and the liberal state as a whole.
K1 immigration removal centres
K1 Power
K1 Security
K1 Care
K1 Welfare
DO 10.1093/bjc/azae012