The Urgency Of Regulating Mental Health Screening For Immigration Detention Centre Officers Using The Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21 (DASS-21)
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Mental health protection in Immigration Detention Centres (Rudenim) has predominantly focused on detainees, leaving officers with limited regulatory protection. This reveals a regulatory gap in mental health screening, despite the right to health under Article 28H paragraph (1) of the 1945 Constitution and Article 100 paragraph (1) of the Health Law. This article examines the urgency of regulating mental health screening for Rudenim officers and proposes a framework using the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21 (DASS-21). This normative legal research employs statutory, conceptual, and comparative approaches, with qualitative and prescriptive analysis based on Gustav Radbruch’s theory of legal objectives. The findings identify three regulatory deficiencies: the absence of specific rules on periodic screening, standardized procedures for classifying results and determining follow-up, and clear institutional responsibilities. These gaps weaken preventive protection and legal certainty. Accordingly, this article proposes a Government Administrative Standard Operating Procedure (SOPAP) comprising periodic screening, result classification, professional assessment, tiered intervention, confidential aggregate reporting, and institutional accountability with follow-up mechanisms. DASS-21 serves as an initial screening instrument, not a diagnostic tool. The framework advances justice through equitable preventive support, utility through early intervention, and legal certainty through standardized procedures. Implementation requires formal authorization by the Directorate General of Immigration.
Language: English
Subfield: Law
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7225461990