general observations in connection with inspections 26 These circumstances mean that there are reasons for the Police Authority to continue its work on ensuring that those who work in a police custody facility have satisfactory training for the task. increased risk for the detainees. A lack of knowledge regarding the police’s regulations and procedures, and regarding what their duties involve, means a risk that the detainees will not have their rights accommodated. There is also a risk of the procedures for supervision not being adhered to, and the detainees not receiving the medical care they are entitled to. Individuals who are very intoxicated or suffering from a mental illness are regularly placed in police custody facilities. It is vital that these persons are supervised in order to avoid unforeseen consequences. In the information to which the Parliamentary Ombudsmen has access, it was concluded that 11 persons died, between 2015 and 2017, when they were deprived of their liberty in a police custody facility, or were taken to a hospital from a police cell. These circumstances means that there are grounds to continue to monitor the Police Authority’s work towards ensuring that those working in police custody facility operations have the training required in order for the task to be performed in accordance with the applicable regulations. In conclusion, it should be pointed out that the Police Authority has produced a special police custody facilities handbook during the period.13 The handbook contains detailed method descriptions of the provisions applying to police custody facility activity, and descriptions for the tasks most regularly performed at a police custody facility. Used correctly, the handbook will be an important tool for ensuring that the rights of individuals deprived of their liberty are accommodated. Remand prisons and prison establishments At the end of 2017, there were 32 remand prisons and 45 prison establishments in Sweden with a total of just over 6,000 places. In the first instance, is people deprived of their liberty due to being held on remand or serving a prison sentence, who are placed with the Prison and Probation Service. Sometimes it can be the case that individuals who have been detained pursuant to the Aliens Act are placed with the authority. The latter category of inmates includes both persons detained while awaiting a decision on expulsion in a criminal case, and detained individuals who have been transferred from the Migration Agency because they were deemed unable to stay in a unit for reasons of safety. The number of detainees are placed within the Prison and Probation Service has increased over the past few years. In 2017, the OPCAT unit carried out a number of inspections focusing on, among other things, 13 The Swedish Police Authority’s handbook on police custody facility activity (PM 2017:63).

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