CAT/C/AUT/CO/4-5 17. While noting the measures taken by the State party to improve living conditions in detention centres, including various legislative measures (the so-called “Haftenlastungspaket”) to reduce the waiting period for conditional release and the grounds for detention on remand, the Committee is concerned that there is continuing overcrowding in places of detention, in particular Josefstadt and Simmerig II prisons in Vienna, as well as understaffing problems. The Committee is also concerned about the reintroduction in June 2009 of the use of electro-muscular disruption devices, “Tasers”, in the penal service (arts. 2, 11 and 16). The State party should strengthen its efforts to alleviate the overcrowding of penitentiary institutions, including through the application of alternative measures to imprisonment and the establishment of additional prison facilities as needed. The State party should also take appropriate measures to increase the overall staffing levels and the number of female prison officers. The Committee reiterates its concerned that the use of electro-muscular disruption devices can result in severe pain amounting to torture and in certain cases can even be lethal. The State party should consider relinquishing the use of electro-muscular disruption devices to restrain persons in custody, as this leads to breaches of the Convention. 18. While it takes note of the Suicide Prevention Programme established by the Federal Ministry of Justice in December 2007, the Committee finds the number of suicides and other sudden deaths in detention centres to appear to be high (art. 11). The State party should increase its efforts to prevent suicides and other sudden deaths in all places of detention. The Committee urges the State party to investigate promptly, thoroughly and impartially all deaths of detainees, assessing the health care received by inmates as well as any possible liability of prison personnel, and provide, where appropriate, adequate compensation to the families of the victims. Furthermore, information on independent investigation of cases of suicide and other sudden deaths, along with any guidelines for suicide prevention adopted in this regard, should be included in the next periodic report. Prompt, thorough and impartial investigations 19. The Committee regrets the insufficient statistical data on allegations of torture and ill-treatment provided by the State party as well as the lack of information on the results of the investigations undertaken in respect of those allegations. The Committee notes with concern that almost half of the incidents occurred in 2009 concerned foreigners. In this regard, the Committee continues to be concerned about the high level of impunity in cases of police brutality, including that perceived to be racially-motivated. Until January 2010, allegations of torture and ill-treatment were investigated by the Bureau for Internal Affairs (BIA), a special unit within the Federal Ministry of Interior, which informs the competent public prosecutor about the outcome of the internal inquiry. Although the Bureau of Internal Affairs provided a copy of its reports to the Human Rights Advisory Board, the members of this national human rights institution were not mandated to carry any investigative work. Since the entry into force of the Federal Act on the Establishment and Organization of the Federal Bureau of Anti-Corruption on 1 January 2010, BIA was transformed into the Federal Bureau of Anti-Corruption (BAK) that, according to the information provided by the delegation, is “an independent body outside the traditional law enforcement structures and conducts independent investigation in close cooperation with the public prosecutors” (arts. 12-13). 6