• Homepage
• About us
• Our Work
• Capacity Building Your Organisation
• Client Groups
  • BME Groups
  • LGBT Groups
  • Offenders
  • Older People
  • Refugees & Asylum Seekers
  • Victims of Crime
  • Women
  • Young People
  • Faith Groups
• Community Safety In Your Borough
• Community Safety & Crime Reduction
• Conference
• Consultancy
• CSAS Networks and events
• CSAS Training
• FADIS
• Hot Topics
• CSAS Factsheets
• News
• Job Vacancies
• Resources & Links
• Enquiry Form
• Access keys
• Sitemap
• Site search

Refugees and Asylum Seekers

In 2006 23,610 applications for asylum were submitted to UK authorities, in which time 20,930 initial decisions were received, of these applicants 21% were awarded refugee status or discretionary leave to remain.

Refugees and asylum seekers face unique problems when settling in the UK . The asylum application process can be stressful and confusing to new arrivals and language is often an additional barrier. The voluntary sector play a key role in addressing some of their multiple needs.

Research carried out for the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO)* shows that asylum seekers are no more likely to commit crimes than anyone else and are more likely to be victims than perpetrators. The same research also suggested that asylum seekers often feel unable to report incidents of racial harassment or violence.

A report conducted by Refugee Action** indicates that refugees have a disproportionate fear of crime, 83% of female refugees and asylum seekers say they do not go out at night because they fear abuse and harassment.

Below are some links to agencies and research that can help you in your work with new and existing refugee communities.

*Source: ACPO, Guide to Meeting the Policing Needs of Asylum Seekers and Refugees

**Source: Refugee Action, Is it safe here?, December 2002

---

External Links

• Refugee Council
  Works directly with refugees and refugee community organisations, providing advice, training and information. They also campaign and lobby for refugee voices to be heard in the UK and abroad.
  www.refugeecouncil.org.uk
  
  
• Refugee Action
  Refugee Action exists to enable refugees to build new lives through advice and information, community development, enhancing opportunity, and campaigning for refugee rights.
  www.refugee-action.org.uk
  
  
• The Border and Immigration Agency
  The Border and Immigration Agency is a new executive agency of the Home Office. The Agency assumes the responsibilities of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND) for managing immigration control in the UK.
  www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk
  
  
• Information Centre about Asylum and Refugees in the UK (ICAR)
  ICAR is an academic research and information organisation that provides a range of analysis to generate new thinking on asylum and raise the level of public debate.
  www.icar.org.uk

Downloads and Research

• Home Office Research
  Central government resrearch dealing with a wide range of immigration and asylum-related topics.
  www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/
  
  
• Researching Asylum in London (RAL)
  RAL is an independent database of research on refugee and asylum issues relevant to London.
  www.researchasylum.org.uk/
  
  
• London Enriched: the Mayor's draft strategy for refugee integration in London
  The Mayor's draft strategy for refugee integration in London focuses on action needed in the areas of housing; employment training and enterprise; health; community safety; refugee children and young people; and community development. The consultation ended on 29th October 2007 and the final document is due out in February 2008.
  www.london.gov.uk/
  
  
• Refugee Council response to London Enriched
  The Refugee Council's contribution to the mayoral consultation on refugee integration. [October 2007]
  www.refugeecouncil.org.uk/