3.9 – SIZE OF CUSTODY CELLS
3.14 – INDEPENDENT COMPLAINTS
OFFICES AND INVESTIGATION
BODIES
Police custody cells must be designed in a way
that ensures humane detention conditions.
An essential element of preventing abuse by
staff members is the detection, prosecution and
punishment of misconduct on the part of police
officers.
A single-occupancy custody cell must have a
floor space of at least 4.5 square metres.
Multiple-occupancy custody cells must have a
floor space of at least 3.5 square metres per
person.
Every Land should therefore set up
independent
complaints
offices
and
24
investigation bodies.
Facing walls must be separated by a distance of
at least two metres, and the ceiling must be
considerably higher than two metres.
3.15 – CONFIDENTIALITY OF
CONVERSATIONS
3.10 – CCTV MONITORING
Persons in custody must be given the
opportunity to have confidential conversations
with their lawyers. Confidentiality should also be
assured for conversations with doctors or
relatives.
CCTV monitoring should only be used in
police stations in individual cases where it is
imperative for the protection of the person
concerned. The reasons for the use of CCTV
monitoring should be documented. In addition,
the person concerned must be informed that
monitoring is taking place. The mere fact that
the camera is visible is not sufficient. It should
be possible for the person concerned to discern
whether the camera is running.
3.16 – WEAPONS IN CUSTODY
Officers should remove
entering a custody suite.
firearms
before
Due to the significant health risks involved,
the use of pepper spray in confined spaces is not
a
proportionate
measure
under
any
circumstances. It should therefore be avoided
25
inside police stations.
3.11 – MULTIPLE-OCCUPANCY OF
CUSTODY CELLS
In order to ensure humane detention
conditions, it is indispensable that custody cells
accommodating more than one person have a
completely separate toilet with separate
ventilation.
3.12 – RIGHT TO MEDICAL
EXAMINATION
Every person taken into custody has the right
to consult a doctor.
3.13 – RESPECTFUL TREATMENT
Persons being held in detention should be
treated respectfully. For example, staff members
should indicate their presence in a suitable
manner before entering a custody cell, and
should, as a rule, speak to detainees using polite
forms of address.
24
Cf. inter alia ECHR, Kummer v. Czech Republic,
judgment of 25/07/2013, Application no. 32133/11 § 83;
Eremiášova and Pechová v. Czech Republic, judgment of
16/02/2012, Application no. 23944/04, § 135
25
ECHR, Tali v. Estonia, judgment of 13/02/2014,
Application no. 66393/10 § 78; CPT/Inf (2008) 33, margin no.
86
26
Select target paragraph3
Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents