3 – FEDERAL AND LAND POLICE In 2018, the National agency visited a total of eight police stations. These included three Land police stations in Lower Saxony, North RhineWestphalia and Thuringia, and five Federal police stations. verify whether the emergency call system in the custody cells was working. The conditions in police custody cells, including furnishings and fittings, must be respectful of the human dignity of detainees. Every custody cell should be equipped with a smoke detector, an emergency button, adjustable lighting, a non-flammable, washable mattress, a blanket and a pillow. Where a custody cell is only equipped with a low bed, it should have additional seating at standard height. Where the custody suite is located separately from the guard room or if it is in another part of the building, an intercom system is advisable. Checks should be carried out to ensure that the intercom and the emergency call system are working before each occupancy of a custody cell. Access to daylight is recommended for every custody cell, including those intended for short-term custody. 3.1 – POSITIVE EXAMPLES The National Agency highlighted several positive examples during its visits. As part of the scheduled renovations at Frankfurt am Main Federal Police District Office, CCTV monitoring is set to be installed in the custody cells. The cameras are to be activated only when the doors of the custody cells are opened. This type of system affords the greatest possible degree of privacy to the individual held in custody, and can also help to prevent abuse. In addition, level access to the custody suite is to be created, which will reduce the risk of injury when bringing highly agitated persons to their cells. 3.2.2 – Instruction of rights At Leipzig Federal Police District Office, the individual rooms for recording the personal details of individuals in custody, conducting searches, and carrying out other measures related to the custody process all had signs explaining, in various different languages, what would happen to the person concerned in each of the rooms. This means that, if communication difficulties arise, the person concerned is not left in the dark until an interpreter arrives. One Federal police station kept written documentation on the instruction of individuals’ rights under the Code of Criminal Procedure, but not for the instruction given in accordance with police law. At stations in North RhineWestphalia and Lower Saxony, instruction was not always provided in writing, and in some cases it was only provided when the detainee was released. In some cases, the instruction sheet stated that it was only possible to consult legal counsel under certain restrictions. 3.2 – FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Regardless of the legal basis on which people are taken into custody, they must be immediately instructed about their rights in writing and in a language they understand. If a person was unable to be instructed about their rights when they were brought into custody, this must be done at the earliest possible time. It must be documented that instruction has been given. The visited facilities were given recommendations on the following main topics: 3.2.1 – Furnishing and fittings in custody cells In both Federal and Land police stations, shortcomings were found with regard to the furnishings and fittings of custody cells. These included a lack of smoke detectors, nonadjustable lighting and no access to daylight. At one station, there were no regular checks to 3.2.3 – Strip-searches In Federal and Land police stations, the National Agency found that individuals were subjected to strip-searches involving a visual 61