PRE-DEPORTATION DETENTION FACILITIES since been followed. Detainees awaiting deportation must now be returned to Büren Prison after a failed deportation procedure. contacting and communicating with the authorities or organising visits by relatives. According to various members of staff, the Catholic priest and the doctor, the European Homecare employees show great personal commitment and have gained the trust of the detainees. During its visit the Joint Commission witnessed the familiar manner in which one employee treated detainees. The Joint Commission would like to emphasise that the facility gives the impression of being in very good condition, that is the detention rooms, the common rooms and the outdoor area. For example, there was hardly any graffiti on the walls, although in some cases it was more than two years since they had last been repainted. Detainees awaiting deportation are also granted sufficiently long visiting times. However, the Joint Commission feels that Büren Prison’s location is not unproblematic. The facility is approx. 6 km outside of the town of Büren, in a wooded area, and cannot be reached by public transport. A taxi ride from Büren costs approx. EUR 25. Never-theless, the Joint Commission learned that this problem is also being solved successfully and very practically through the commitment of the staff in the facility, the European Homecare employees, cooperation with the private welfare organisation and the Evangelisches Werk (the social services of the Protestant Church in Germany): Visitors who do not have the financial means are helped either by being refunded the costs of the trip or by being given a lift in one of the staff’s private cars. According to staff, they had registered 195 groups of visitors (comprising a maximum of three adults and one child each) the previous month. These high visiting figures are an indication that, despite the facility’s less favourable location, visits are being facilitated by the personal commitment of the staff and welfare organisations. Positive findings During its visit the Joint Commission noted the positive atmosphere in the facility. The impression it gained was confirmed by staff and detainees. Those interviewed mainly spoke positively about the facility, people’s dealings with one another and the atmosphere. Cooperation with staff of the private security firm Kötter had also proved successful, they said. Emphasis should be given to the broad range of activities which are available to detainees awaiting deportation. They include a landing with sports and recreational facilities, for example sports equipment and exercise machines, table tennis, billiards, table football, as well as a library with foreign-language books. In addition, cookery and film-watching groups meet in the recreation room. Detainees can play football, volleyball, badminton and basketball outside. Detainees awaiting deportation are offered the opportunity, for instance, to do maintenance and cleaning work, work in the depository and cleaning the yard. They can do woodwork, making nesting boxes for birds and other items, as part of workshops, for example. In Works Hall 1 they can do simple packaging and assembly work. The Joint Commission was able to see for itself during its visit that a large number of the detainees take up many of the recreational, sports and employment opportunities available. Staff stressed how important the possibility of doing sports was for detainees awaiting deportation, since it gave them the opportunity to relieve their dissatisfaction at the situation they find themselves in, as well as to deal with the attendant frustration and aggression. In this context staff also mentioned that they were in favour of a sports hall being built so that detainees can continue doing sports in winter. Five European Homecare employees are responsible for providing social assistance to detainees. Four members of staff are responsible for the social service and one is responsible for organising workshops. The staff are generally available on weekdays, as well as at weekends where required. According to many of the members of staff in the facility, they make a key contribution to the good atmosphere. The fact that these staff members also have different cultural backgrounds and different nationalities is a not insignificant factor for the success of their work. It also means they speak a wide range of languages, which is why they are often involved in the admissions meeting and medical examination. They support the detainees in, amongst other things, filling in asylum applications, 5.2.4 – Custody pending deportation in Hanover Prison, Langenhagen Unit, 19 September 2013 The Joint Commission inspected custody pending deportation being enforced in Hanover Prison’s Langenhagen Unit on 19 September 2013. It inspected the units housing male and female detainees awaiting deportation, the sanitary facilities as well as two specially secured rooms. The Joint Commission also spoke with several detainees awaiting deportation and with the doctor who works there on a freelance basis. According to Lower Saxony’s Prison Scheme of Execution, Hanover Prison’s Langenhagen Unit is the central facility responsible for enforcing custody pending deportation against all men and women. Custody pending deportation is enforced by way of 63