Deportations also burden the police: ‘Difficult, especially when it concerns small children’

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When a forced deportation is ordered, the cantonal police are usually deployed in a night-and-dagger operation.

The Bern cantonal police has a special immigration and civil rights service for this purpose. The employees of this department supervise the deportation from the Bern location to the transfer abroad, says Roger Staub (52), head of special investigation 3 at Kapo Bern, Blick. They would be specially trained for this.

Despite special training, situations are sometimes stressful for police officers, Staub said. “Especially when it concerns small children, this makes it difficult for individual employees,” says the police officer. The Kapo employees can also shed a tear.

“Professional and respectful”

During deportations, police officers must always expect resistance.

You can often convince those affected not to resist the police officers in conversation, so that deportations can be carried out without coercive measures, says Staub. If there is resistance, the law allows officers to use handcuffs, tear gas or batons.

The Kapo Bern states that irritants or sticks are allowed, but will not be used.

The National Commission for the Prevention of Torture monitors compliance with the applicable rules and accompanies and observes repatriation flights. In its most recent report last April, the commission concluded that the treatment of those affected by repatriation was “overall professional and respectful”.

Danger for traumatized children

However, the committee also points out that deportations can be traumatizing, especially for children. She sees the use of coercive measures in the presence of children as problematic.

She also judged a case in which a family was taken to Zurich airport dressed only in nightgowns and barefoot as humiliating.

Source:Blick