Detention of asylum seekers creates mental health problems, fuels frustration, is expensive and does not stop the boats from coming.

This is the stark assessment of Malta’s blanket detention policy by immigration expert Grant Mitchell, a social anthropologist.

He believes detention is not beneficial to society because it creates mistrust in the authorities among asylum seekers.

Mr Mitchell, director of the International Detention Coalition, a network of non-governmental organisations in 67 countries, says research shows that asylum seekers who enter the legal process for protection status are unlikely to abscond.

“Asylum seekers are more willing to cooperate if they are immediately placed in open centres and research shows that the rate of voluntary repatriation is higher in those countries that have alternatives to detention,” he says.

Judging by experience, he points out that embassies are more likely to cooperate and issue travel documents for repatriation of nationals if the people are living in the community.

Malta, Israel and Australia have detention policies that lock up asylum seekers the moment they step into the country but Mr Mitchell notes a shift in strategy in the US, UK and other countries.

“Since 2008, the Obama Administration in the US has gradually shifted its focus from using detention as a measure of first resort to a measure of last resort,” he says.

Mr Mitchell argues that governments privately acknowledge the difficulty to manage expensive detention centres where asylum seekers are prone to frustration and anger.

“It is not easy managing people who are detained like criminals but who have no idea when they will be released,” he says, noting that a one-size-fits-all detention model is unsustainable.

He acknowledges that detention has often been used by governments to send out a message of deterrence.

“Governments use detention to show they are tough on immigration but, rather than being a message of deterrence to asylum seekers, it is a message to the electorate,” he remarks.

Coming to terms with the fact that detention does not stop boats from coming is a tough realisation, something which the Australian government has acknowledged after 20 years of implementing a strict detention policy.

Mr Mitchell says the Australian government has understood that its policy has not prevented the flow of immigration and is now seeking alternative solutions.

He feels that asylum seekers landing in Malta can be placed in open centres where they could be followed by assessors or else requested to sign in at police stations pending the processing of their application.

Detention is mandatory up to a maximum of 12 months for all asylum seekers who land on the island, although most are released before this period.

The blanket detention policy has often been criticised by human rights groups, who insist the trauma of being locked up exacerbates the problems encountered during the dangerous sea crossing.

Mr Mitchell says experience has shown that blanket detention policies lead to high rates of self-harm, suicide and riots.

Although detention may be needed in some cases, it should be a measure of last resort, he adds.

“Changing this needs leadership but it can be done if governments believe in what they are doing,” he says.

Mr Mitchell will this morning deliver a talk during a seminar on alternatives to detention at Europe House in Valletta.

ksansone@timesofmalta.com