alien affairs 3.5 Alien affairs There were approximately 13,500 asylum seekers in Finland at the end of 2017; they were housed in 56 reception centres. Under section 121 of the Aliens Act, an asylum seeker may be held in detention for reasons such as establishing his or her identity or enforcing a decision on removing him or her from the country. There are two detention units for foreign nationals in Finland, one in Joutseno and one in Metsälä, Helsinki. The detention unit at the Joutseno Reception Centre operates under the Finnish Immigration Service. The Joutseno Reception Centre had 30 places at the beginning of 2017, and by the end of 2017, 38 new places had been added. The most recent new places were added in January 2018. The Metsälä Detention Unit was operated by the City of Helsinki up to the end of 2017. On 1 January 2018, the Unit was transferred under the management of the Finnish Immigration Service. The Metsälä Detention Unit has 40 places; following the renovation of the unit, which was still ongoing at the end of 2017, its capacity was reduced by 30 places. The reception centres have not been considered part of the remit of NPM supervision, and visits to the sites have been made under the mandate of the Ombudsman. However, the situation may change as a result of the amended Aliens Act. Regulations on the residence requirement and new protection measures related to the residence requirement applicable to children entered into force at the beginning of February 2017. A foreign national who has sought international asylum may be ordered to live at a specific reception centre and to report to the reception centre from one to four times a day. The criteria for placing an adult under a residence requirement are less strict than those for detention. Furthermore, a child must remain within the area of the reception centre in question. The criteria for placing a child under the residence requirement are the same as for the detention of a child, which makes the procedure an alternative to detention. The Ombudsman does not oversee return flights in its role as the NPM, although this would fall under its jurisdiction. This is because the Non-Discrimination Ombudsman has been assigned the special duty of overseeing the removal of foreign nationals from the country. However, the Ombudsman has received complaints, such as the conduct of the police, regarding issues related to return flights for asylum seekers. Some residents in reception centres and detention units may be victims of human trafficking, and recognising such residents is a challenge. A system of assistance for victims of human trafficking operates in connection with Joutseno Reception Centre. According to a press release by the Finnish Immigration Services, 127 new customers, representing 31 nationalities, were accepted by the system of assistance in 2017. Fourteen of the customers were minors. The number of customers of the assistance system grew by more than in any previous year. In total, the assistance system had 322 customers at the end of 2017. The aim is to make regular visits to both detention units. The NPM visited the Joutseno Detention Unit in February 2017 and the Metsälä Detention Unit in December 2017. In addition, the Deputy-Ombudsman made an unannounced visit to the residential unit for unaccompanied minors in Kajaani. 49