The private harms of detention: why Serco's violence is not criminalised

Immigration detention centres in Australia have been managed by corporations for the Commonwealth government for the last 25 years. Complaints of officers' violence, including the use of tear gas and batons on detainees, have continued throughout. In recent years, reports suggest that officers tend to use force as a first resort to manage detainees' conduct and routinely handcuff detainees for medical and other appointments outside detention. This article is titled 'the private harms of detention' not because officers' use of force in detention is always hidden, but because few officers have faced criminal prosecution. I argue that flaws in the design and operation of risk assessments unduly heighten the risks posed by detainees. By justifying a greater level of force as reasonable, risk assessments mitigate the potential for officers to be held criminally culpable, and thereby diminish understandings of the seriousness of officers' harmful use of force. The privatised nature of detention and ongoing controversy over the extent of power private detention operators should wield make it important to explore how such actors might influence forums of accountability.