Laura, our Prisoner & Family Service Manager, and Bryony, one of our caseworkers, recently visited the Netherlands to meet with consular staff from across Europe and visit Schiphol detention centre.

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The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) invited us to participate in a visit to the Netherlands, comprising a day-long in-person workshop with consular staff, focusing on detainee work, and a prison visit to Schiphol detention centre, accompanied by FCDO staff based in London and The Hague.

Schiphol has long been an airport where Britons have been arrested for drug smuggling, although we didn’t get to meet any British prisoners whilst there. The detention centre forms part of a judicial complex right beside the airport which also comprises a court, military police cells, asylum seeker accommodation and specialist facilities for detoxing people who have swallowed packets of drugs. It has 130 guards and capacity for 750, but currently holds around 500 people (no exact figure for foreign nationals was given but the director cited countries in the EU, north Africa, and we saw cards on cell doors mentioning Suriname, Curaçao and Martinique).

Most striking was the lack of bars on windows – they are all toughened glass – and in fact we observed that the Royal Noordeinde Palace in the Hague had more bars than the prison. The building was modern (all prisons from before the 1990s have been pulled down and they have fewer, larger prisons) and felt more like a spacious, light hospital than a prison with its wide, green corridors. Many people stay here temporarily before being moved out to prisons further afield and nearer family.

Outside Schiphol detention centre

We passed several exercise yards (about 15m x 15m with a few pull-up bars and a dozen people walking around) where people are allowed at least an hour of fresh air per day; and saw the gym, table tennis and table football in the corridors, and two large sports halls, where they sometimes organise father-and-child activity days. Everyone has the right to work, although they may need to go on a waiting list; we observed some people assembling pipe clamps. Educational opportunities include lessons in Dutch, English and maths, and people can use computers (not connected to the internet) to write letters or CVs. We took English books for the library and were pleased to see it full of people reading. There is also an adaptable multi-faith chapel room and a barber.

Staff do not carry weapons but carry a personal alarm. The staff we spoke to appeared to be positive and spoke good English. There were motivational quotes on the walls such as ‘today will be a good day’.

On arrival people have a medical check with a doctor/nurse and will be assigned a caseworker, who is similar to a social worker.

One cell we saw had a shower and toilet cubicle, microwave, fridge and wardrobe; this felt a far cry from some prisons in other continents where showers and toilets are shared buckets, conditions are filthy, and there is no way of keeping food fresh. There is no canteen in the prison. Instead, detainees are given groceries weekly (often supplemented by items bought from the prison shop) and cook them in a separate kitchen area. They accommodate smokers together and they can smoke in their cell or the exercise yard. There is a body scanner and ‘clean’ and ‘dirty’ sides for those detainees who are known to have swallowed drugs. There are two doctors plus staff dedicated to watching 24/7 these recent arrivals for signs of danger such as packets splitting internally; as soon as the drugs are out, they can move to a normal, unmonitored cell.

We were pleased to meet a member of the prisoner council (‘gedeco’) who listens to inmate requests and feeds them back. There was also a suggestion box, which we hadn’t seen in other prisons. Whilst we didn’t see the visiting area, we did see family members queuing up to go in, including a newborn baby, and saw that the airport bus stops just outside; those visiting from the UK would find this especially convenient and are allowed a longer visit than those residing in the Netherlands.

The workshop the following day was a great opportunity to hear from our consular colleagues about prison systems and challenges in Belgium, Czechia, France, Denmark, Hungary, Ireland and Switzerland, in addition to the Netherlands.

Inside the Hague

There were fascinating discussions about FCDO policy and we discussed the importance of raising any reports of mistreatment or alleged human rights issues so that they could obtain expert advice. Consular staff are hoping to develop a ‘frequently-asked questions’ document, which could be sent to family members in the early days before they have had time to absorb the much longer prisoner pack aimed at detainees themselves.

The Netherlands staff spoke about the sudden increase in drug smuggling from Thailand (where cannabis had been legalised) to Benelux countries. They acknowledge that their prison system – and prison officers’ ability to speak English - is better than other countries, although did say they had complaints about the food being ‘basic’.

Belgium staff are aware the language barrier does not help British detainees as prison staff (both on the French and Dutch side) are much less likely to speak English. Prison conditions are poor and Belgium has been convicted by the European Court of Human Rights for overcrowding.

Czechia has low British prisoner numbers and they are often short-term.

In France they are also experiencing the increase in arrests of travellers from Thailand caused by the change in cannabis laws. They said information is given to prisoners in French by prisons so that can affect people’s understanding of what is involved in signing up for consular assistance or Prisoners Abroad services.

Denmark have fairly low British prisoner numbers. Notification of arrest happens smoothly, visiting is straightforward and transfers to the UK work quickly.

Hungary’s prisons are below EU standards with overcrowded, dilapidated buildings, poor food, and have seen an increase in human trafficking cases. Consular visits are easy to organise.

In Ireland they mentioned there is a good website where family members can book their own prison visits.

Lastly, in Switzerland, each canton has different systems and French-speaking are more bureaucratic than German-speaking prisons.

It was invaluable to reflect on how much impact the language barrier can have, adding to the existing vulnerability of people in prison, and despite conditions often being better than in other continents it highlighted how useful Prisoners Abroad’s services – our newsletters and other reading materials (especially including dictionaries), or our freepost envelopes and children’s pack to help people stay in touch with their family - could be.

Some of the consular staff from across Europe

All in all, it was tremendously helpful to catch up for an extended period with all these colleagues with whom we are in such frequent contact, and we displayed our enthusiasm for attending any similar workshops organised in future. We are always really grateful for the opportunity to learn about issues in various countries and remind our colleagues of how we can support their vital work with vulnerable British detainees.

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