Abstract
In this chapter, we document challenges we face in conducting ongoing research on everyday life in immigration removal centres (IRCs) many of which relate to the highly contested nature of these sites. Immigration detention is frequently in the news, yet rarely the topic of independent academic scrutiny. The Home Office and the private companies who manage these sites of confinement hardly ever allow researchers into them, leaving most of those who write about such places dependent on NGOs, former detainees or evidence gleaned from conversations in the visits halls. We are the exception to the rule, having obtained and retained permission to enter IRCs to conduct independent academic research in 2009. In this chapter, drawing on interviews and field notes with and about staff, we explore some of the tensions inherent in maintaining a working relationship over a long period of time and in these complex research sites. Though aspects of our experience are specific to IRCs, some will apply to other, long-term research projects in custody.
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Notes
- 1.
Each centre runs a shop in which detainees can purchase everyday products as well as lodge mail orders for Argos. The shop is usually staffed by ‘civilian’ officers (i.e. not DCOs). IRCs vary in what they say they do with the profit; some invest it back into the centre, others do not.
- 2.
This is not his real name. All participants cited in this article have been given pseudonyms.
- 3.
“‘Why are you here?’ Jamil challenged Mary. ‘Who let you in? Maybe you’re from UKBA and everything I tell you, you will go and tell them. I know how the system works. Why should I talk to you?’” (Uganda, BH, in Bosworth 2014: 59).
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Bosworth, M., Kellezi, B. (2017). Getting In, Getting Out and Getting Back: Conducting Long-term Research in Immigration Detention Centres. In: Armstrong, S., Blaustein, J., Henry, A. (eds) Reflexivity and Criminal Justice. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-54642-5_11
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