Humane and dignified conditions in detention Whereas psychologists, civil society workers, social workers, teachers or doctors may have the knowledge and skills to work with children, guards rarely have training in child protection and child welfare issues. For example, in Croatia, most police staff have acquired basic knowledge during their general training, but not the necessary skills to work with children from different cultures and with language barriers.326 In some Member States, such as Sweden, there is no regulatory framework for the qualifications of staff at all.327 they consider specialised. In Austria, the Ministry of the Interior has contracted the private security company G4S to provide services in the Vordernberg detention facility. The Austrian Ombudsman Board has criticised the move.332 In the United Kingdom, the Home Office Immigration Enforcement entrusted G4S with the security aspects of Cedars and Tinsley House, the two facilities that accommodated children. Additional challenges emerge when EU Member States employ private security companies in the facilities that In some cases, privately employed staff determine everyday processes and have considerable personal contact with the detainees, including children. For example, based on her visits conducted in 2015, the Czech Ombudsperson reported that, in the Bělá-Jezová facility, uniformed private security guards escorted the migrants to the telephone booths, accompanied them to the doctor and supplied them with articles of personal hygiene.333 They also accompanied migrants to all meals.334 Although their tasks were limited to ensuring security, in practice, the private security guards spent 100 % of their time among the detainees and were the ones who decided how to respond to their everyday needs, including requests for medical care.335 According to the authorities, this was a temporary situation resulting from the increase of arrivals in 2015 and the fact that Bělá-Jezová was the only detention facility in the country, having to host both adults and children as a result. Since then, two new facilities have opened, allowing the facility at Bělá-Jezová to dedicate itself to housing vulnerable groups including families with children, and it is adapted to this purpose.336 Although the presence of private security has been reduced since, the Ombudsman still describes it as disproportionate, including their patrolling in the corridors and escorting of detainees between the individual buildings of the facility.337 326 Korač Graovac A. (ed.) (2014), Legal protection of unaccompanied children (Pravna zaštita djece bez pratnje), Zagreb, University of Zagreb, Faculty of Law (Pravni fakultet Sveučilišta u Zagrebu). 327 Sweden, Swedish Migration Agency (Migrationsverket), 9 February 2016. 328 Luxembourg, Caritas Luxembourg, Integration and Solidarity Unit (Caritas Luxembourg, Service Solidarité et Intégration). 329 Latvia, State Border Guard (Valsts robežsardze), Latvian Centre for Human Rights (Latvijas Cilvēktiesību centrs), 24 February 2016, Letter No. 23.1–1/585. 330 Finland, Joutseno Detention Unit. 331 Barnardo’s (2014) Cedars: two years on, April 2014, Essex, United Kingdom, Barnardo’s, p. 4. 332 See Volksanwaltschaft (2014) ‚ ‘Zwischenergebnis zur Vordernberg-Prüfung‘, 12 March 2014; Volksanwaltschaft (2016) ‚Bericht des Volkanwaltschaftsausschusses ueber den Sonderbericht der Volksanwaltschaft ueber die Wahrnehmungen des Pruefungsverfahrens zum Anhaltezentrum Vordernberg (III-188 der Beilagen)‘ ,9 June 2016. 333 Czech Republic, The Public Defender of Rights, (2015) ‘Facility for the Detention of Foreign Nationals in BěláJezová: Evaluation Report of Systematic Visits‘ (Zařízení pro zajištění cizincu Bělá-Jezová: Vyhodnocení systematické návštěvy), p. 6. 334 Communication with the Methodology Department of the Refugees Facilities Administration of the Ministry of the Interior (oddělení metodiky, Správa uprchlických zařízení MV). 335 Czech Republic, The Public Defender of Rights (2015), ‘Facility for the Detention of Foreign Nationals in BěláJezová: Evaluation Report of Systematic Visit’ (Zařízení pro zajištění cizincu Bělá-Jezová: Vyhodnocení systematické návštěvy), p. 30. 336 Czech Republic, Refugees Facilities Administration of the Ministry of the Interior (2016), Detention Facility for Foreigners Bělá-Jezová, p. 2. 337 Czech Republic, The Public Defender of Rights (2016), ‘Facility for the Detention of Foreign Nationals in BěláJezová: Visit Report’ (Zařízení pro zajištění cizincu BěláJezová: Zpráva z návštěvy zařízení), pp. 9 and 15. Facilities in only four EU Member States reported regular training or awareness raising on issues related to child protection. 1. In Luxembourg, the security guards working in the Findel facility receive regular training in sensitivity for working with detained foreigners.328 2. In Latvia, staff of ACDF Daugavpils regularly attend seminars and training events, which directly or indirectly address child protection issues.329 3. In Finland, instructors working in the detention unit of Joutseno are trained in child protection. In addition, several members of the staff have an educational background in social work and have experience of social work with children.330 4. In the United Kingdom, before its closure, all staff at Cedars were provided with a detailed induction and training in safeguarding, which was updated with annual refresher courses. Training in identifying child sexual exploitation and trafficking was also available.331 79