Victoria Colloby, Contract Director Colnbrook Immigration Removal Centre

Victoria Colloby is the Contract Director of the Colnbrook IRC and has been so since December 2008. She heads a senior management team of a deputy and a team of assistant directors covering regimes, diversity and culture, human resources & development, security, operations and assurance. Colnbrook is the most secure IRC within the UK Border Agency estate having been built to cat B prison standard.


The last time we met was in September 2008 when you were running Yarl’s Wood, another Immigration Removal Centre near Bedford. I came to speak to the catering manager, Dave Mooney, and we were introduced. Had you finished what you wanted to do there?
Victoria Colloby (VC) I don’t think you ever reach a position where you have achieved everything you want to in any role as businesses are dynamic.  In a dynamic company individual team members move to new positions to meet new challenges,  but that doesn’t mean the rest of the team won’t continue with that work.  The opportunity arose to be the Contract Director here at Colnbrook. Although it was a hard decision to leave, as it was my first ‘in charge’ position, with a great team that I was very proud to lead, the opportunity to move to Colnbrook was an excellent one for me and enabled our company to meet the evolving needs of our business. So after nearly two years at Yarl’s Wood I arrived here in December ’08.

What is the situation here?
VC We have up to 388 male detainees housed in four main units, a short term holding facility and a number of smaller units.  Occasionally the short term hold houses the occasional female detainee for short periods; generally females are detained in a separate establishment because their needs are different. We have a very high proportion of ex foreign national prisoners with about 85% of the men here having served a prison sentence. Colnbrook is physically built like a prison, with wings, locks, bolts and bars; this is necessary for the detainee population here.  However, we’re very clear that the men in our care are not prisoners. In such surroundings it’s sometimes difficult for the detainees to appreciate that they are not prisoners, so we have to make sure that the regime we deliver takes account of their status and enables the to make good use of their time here.

What is it like recruiting staff from the London area?
VC I expected it to be very difficult, but we have the reputation of being a very good employer, pay rates are reasonable for the area and we offer varied opportunities, so we are finding it quite straightforward to attract high levels of good quality applicants. We had a graduation last Friday of twenty new officers who were a really good mix, that is of age, background, life experience and ability. I find it an advantage to have a broad mix of staff particularly as we have such a diverse detainee population to support and care for.

So often in the public sector applicants for jobs are ex military and presume they are going to be guards when they really need to have a large slice of social working skills in their make-up. Are you getting people like that?
VC We attract staff from a very broad base but I don’t think we attract ex forces personnel to the same extent as the public sector .  At both Colnbrook and Yarl’s Wood, we very deliberately recruit staff with excellent social skills who want to care and support for the individuals in our Centres. 

Are the staff here represented by a union?
VC We recognise the Prison Service Union and have a productive partnership with them; there is a very active committee which met with me only this morning; we try to work together for the benefit of our staff, who are all of our concern.  We also have an increasingly active Employee Partnership Forum, which provides an opportunity for staff, regardless of union affiliation or grade, to bring their ideas forward on issues affecting them and that would improve their working lives.

All over the prison estate there is new building being ‘slotted in’, and I’ve heard it said (and it’s true I’m sure) that if you leave your car parking space empty for a couple of minutes a cell will be there when you come back! Are there any plans for additional accommodation here?
VC Colnbrook has had a number of additional places built over the last four years. There are no plans to significantly expand the spaces available at present, although we are working with UKBA to ensure that the capacity is used to its best, for example we’re currently reviewing the use of a number of spaces identified for vulnerable individuals. At present, there are other immigration centres coming on line in the Estate, at Gatwick and other potential sites.     At the moment the energies and enthusiasm of my team are directed towards continually improving the regime, maintaining the health and safety of the people in our care, and supporting, engaging, entertaining and employing them as best as we can.


Victoria, thank you for taking time out from your work to speak to the Review.