Asylsökande i Sveriges häkten: en nödvändig säkerhetsåtgärd eller ett tecken på en crimmigration-utveckling i Sverige?

Sammanfattning: Immigrants, asylum seekers and refugees with no swedish passport or residence permit can under particular circumstances be transferred to and held in custody. For the sake of simplicity, all of the terms above will be referred to as “immigrants etc.” in this abstract. These individuals residence in custody are regulated by criminal laws, except certain facilitations regarding contact with others outside of the facility and internet usage. Since these immigrants etc. are not suspected of any crimes they are prohibited by law to interact with other inmates. Due to this phenomenon and the legislation around it, a purpose for this study was created. The purpose of this study was to investigate correctional officers experiences with immigrants etc. in custody and how their situation is being handled at the custody in Gothenburg, Sweden. The research method used were qualitative interviews with correctional officers at the custody in Gothenburg. Results show that immigrants etc. are being more isolated and are suffering from mental health problems to a greater extent than other inmates in custody. These results are consistent with what previous research regarding imprisoned immigrants etc. has shown. Results also show that according to the correctional officers, immigrants etc. are not prioritized in custody because they are in minority and are not suspected of any crimes. Many correctional officers also criticizes the Swedish Migration Agencys part in this process and express that guidelines regarding treatment of immigrants etc. in custody are ambiguous. By applying Mertons theory of manifest and latent functions to the laws regulating immigrants etc. residency in custody both intended and unintended effects of the law are distinguished and explained.