Oakington Immigration Reception Centre
Encyclopedia
Oakington Immigration Reception Centre was a UK Home Office
immigration detention
centre located in Cambridgeshire
, England
.
Originally a World War II
airfield, RAF Oakington
, during the war it was used for Short Stirling
bomber forces, as well as other assorted units. The base contracted after the war, and much evidence of its former presence is visible in farmland surrounding the current perimeter. It was used for flight training until the 1970s, and then became a barracks
.
Taken over by the Home Office, it was converted to an immigration centre in 2000 the site held and processed around 450 political asylum seekers, and between opening and mid-2005 had processed over 40,000 people who had been arrested for entering the coutry illegally. Latterly, the site operated the Border Agency's seven-day fast-track assessment process, which involved a series of interviews over an average of 14 days to determine the validity of a case. If refused asylum, detainees were removed from the country. If they gained asylum they were released into the community.
The centre received repeated criticisms from the Prisons Inspector and from others regarding safety of children and adults detained there. In January 2008 it was announced that centre was the second worst in the country.
The site was acquired in March 2006 by English Partnerships
, for a new town called Northstowe
. The centre was due to close in 2006 but actually closed in November 2010.
Home Office
The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
immigration detention
Immigration detention
Immigration detention is the policy of holding individuals suspected of visa violations, illegal entry or unauthorised arrival, and those subject to deportation and removal in detention until a decision is made by immigration authorities to grant a visa and release them into the community, or to...
centre located in Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
Originally a World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
airfield, RAF Oakington
RAF Oakington
RAF Oakington was an RAF base situated in Cambridgeshire, England.Construction was started in 1939, but was affected by the outbreak of war, the original plan called for Type C hangars two type J were erected instead. It was used by No. 2 Group in July 1940 for No. 218 Squadron which had recently...
, during the war it was used for Short Stirling
Short Stirling
The Short Stirling was the first four-engined British heavy bomber of the Second World War. The Stirling was designed and built by Short Brothers to an Air Ministry specification from 1936, and entered service in 1941...
bomber forces, as well as other assorted units. The base contracted after the war, and much evidence of its former presence is visible in farmland surrounding the current perimeter. It was used for flight training until the 1970s, and then became a barracks
Barracks
Barracks are specialised buildings for permanent military accommodation; the word may apply to separate housing blocks or to complete complexes. Their main object is to separate soldiers from the civilian population and reinforce discipline, training and esprit de corps. They were sometimes called...
.
Taken over by the Home Office, it was converted to an immigration centre in 2000 the site held and processed around 450 political asylum seekers, and between opening and mid-2005 had processed over 40,000 people who had been arrested for entering the coutry illegally. Latterly, the site operated the Border Agency's seven-day fast-track assessment process, which involved a series of interviews over an average of 14 days to determine the validity of a case. If refused asylum, detainees were removed from the country. If they gained asylum they were released into the community.
The centre received repeated criticisms from the Prisons Inspector and from others regarding safety of children and adults detained there. In January 2008 it was announced that centre was the second worst in the country.
The site was acquired in March 2006 by English Partnerships
English Partnerships
English Partnerships was the national regeneration agency for England, performing a similar role on a national level to that fulfilled by Regional Development Agencies on a regional level...
, for a new town called Northstowe
Northstowe
Northstowe is a proposed new town of 9,500 houses in Cambridgeshire, UK. It is expected to be "an exemplar of sustainability in the use of renewable energy resources and reducing carbon emissions"...
. The centre was due to close in 2006 but actually closed in November 2010.