Changes routines regarding returning children

Transporting out returning childrenThe Police Immigration Unit (PU), in cooperation with professional experts, has prepared an advisor that sets guidelines for how the police will act as gently as possible when arresting children for transport out of Norway. Photo: Kristine Næss Larsen / NRK.

The police changes routines regarding returning children

The Norwegian police take self-criticism for the way in which families with children have been sent out of the country. Now the routines changes and families with children will no longer be arrested during the night.

 

– We see that there is a high risk that we can inflict harmful stress and trauma on children in the cases where we arrest and transport children, Coordinator for Children in the Police Immigration Unit (PU), Christina Kloster, tells NRK.

The PU has prepared an advisor with guidelines for how the police should act when they arrest children for transport out of Norway henceforth. One of the concrete changes means that the police no longer arrest children during the night.

– Then most will have benefitted from a night of sleep before the police come so that one is more ready for the rather stressful day in store. In order to protect children and parents, we should not arrest people at school, kindergarten or work, says Kloster.

According to Redd Barna (Save the Children), many children have explained that they have experienced it as very scary to be awakened by the police in the middle of the night. Several children have been struggling with sleep problems, lack of concentration at school and changes in behaviour.

214 minors have been arrested and transported out so far this year, according to figures from PU. Ten of these were single minors, while the rest were transported out together with their families.

 

© NTB scanpix / #Norway Today