1st Arrondisement Police Station, Bamako - Thursday, 3 December. r. Sow Bilaly, "Principal Commissar" and Assistant to the Commissioner M in charge of the first "Arrondissement" (Division) of Bamako welcomed me to the above station. Bamako is divided into 8 arrondissements. The Principal Commissar is responsible for ensuring that the rights of arrested persons are respected through the observance of regulations and procedures on the matter. Because the 1st arrondissement covers a commercial area, most of the cases that come before the police station are of a commercial nature. To illustrate, at the time of the visit a man who impersonated the Inspector of Taxes and collected "taxes" from many people for three months had just been arrested, and he would be arraigned before court. There were very few cases of murder or violent offences. In the commercial cases if the complainant is paid, it ends the matter. Suspects are not detained beyond 48 hours. The Prosecutor's authorisation is required for any extension beyond 48 hours. The highest number of detainees at the Station at any one time, it was stated, was five. Food Feeding detainees is a problem, the Commissar conceded. Relatives brought them food. Those who do not have relatives in Bamako share the food of those who have. If they also have money, they can ask for food to be bought for them. Asked for an explanation of "judicial police" which I had heard so often on this visit, the Commissar stated that they are part of the National Police with responsibility for criminal cases. They gather evidence and send cases to court. Preliminary investigation is carried out by the Police while the judge, prosecutor and tribunal undertake further investigation. The Prosecutor determines if an accused person should be committed to prison to await trial. Visit to Cells A cell for women had no occupant. The Commissar, who had been at post for four months stated that no woman had been detained since his assumption of duty. Generally, in his experience, women do not commit offences. The main offences associated with women are infanticide and abortion, but these are not common in this Arrondissement. 36 A second cell had 3 detainees: the impostor (tax), a man caught stealing and someone who had misappropriated goods entrusted to his care. Two of them, who had spent less than a day in detention had been brought food by their relatives. All of them said they had not been assaulted by the Police. The cleanliness of the cell left much to be desired. Without revealing his source of information, one of them stated that some detainees spent as long as one month in the cell. As in the case of the Police Station in Mopti, the front side of the cell had widely-spaced iron bars which let in fresh air and light, but also plenty of that dreaded insect, mosquito. A third cell for hardened criminals had no occupant. Toilet facilities have been provided outside the cells, and they are used in the day by the inmates. However, this was vehemently denied by the 3 detainees, who said that the toilet in the yard was used by junior officers. At night, buckets in the cell are used for nature's call. Water in a bucket, I was informed served the purpose of a toilet roll. Meeting with Commissar I commended the Commissar for the apparent good work he was doing. The inmates had no complaint as regards assault by the police, and the relationship between the two was described as good. Two suggestions were nevertheless proffered by me: the provision of a mosquito net for the front side of the cells and usage of the outside toilet by the inmates. With regard to the latter suggestion, the Commissar responded that the inmates just have to call and they would be let out to use the toilet. On long remands, the Commissar denied that it applied to his cells. The longest remand has been 72 hours. In extreme cases, an additional day was added because the Prosecutor could not attend to the inmates. He welcomed my visit and saw it as a source of encouragement. Such visits keep them on their toes, he stated. Third Arrondissement Police Station, Bamako, Thursday, 3 December he officer-in-charge at the time of my visit was not aware that 1 would be 1 visiting. He had been in Cairo on a training programme, and returned only the previous day. Consequently, he could not answer for the cause of detention 37