21 Selected topics from 2016 All custody facilities have also been informed about the importance of giving detainees an opportunity to notify a lawyer regardless of the time of day. The Parliamentary Ombudsman found that the information brochure about detainees’ rights – which was prepared by the Police Directorate and is distributed to detainees – does not provide correct information on this topic. This was also stressed by the CPT after its visit to Norway in 2011.6 Access to a defence counsel is a fundamental guarantee of legal protection that reduces the risk of torture and ill-treatment. Consequently it must be possible to notify a counsel regardless of the time of day. Prisons One of the main challenges identified in the 13 prisons the NPM has visited so far has been to ensure that foreign inmates receive information in a language they understand. Interpreters are often not used in communications with inmates, except for translating court documents. In several of the prisons, Google Translate was the only tool available to the staff to communicate with inmates who did not speak Norwegian or English. As a positive example, two prisons stated that they had an information video made for foreign inmates that was available in several different languages. Many of the foreign inmates the NPM has spoken to expressed a high degree of frustration over not receiving or understanding important information on arrival. Some foreign inmates expressed that they had to rely on other inmates for information. Inadequate information about procedures and rights can contribute to inmates feeling insecure, especially foreign inmates who are often far away from their family and social network and can feel isolated due to lack of information. The Parliamentary Ombudsman has consistently recommended that the prisons use interpreters during admission interviews with inmates who do not have sufficient language skills in Norwegian or English. In several of its prison visits, the NPM found that inmates have acted as interpreters for each other due to the staff’s lack of access to interpreters. In some prisons, inmates have helped translate during conversations about case processing and medical issues. Interpreters shall be used when needed to provide information about legal decisions and during medical consultations.7 Confidentiality is especially important in these types of conversations. The use of interpreters can also be necessary in other conversations of a personal nature or where providing and receiving correct information is important. Other inmates can be considered used as interpreters when the information concerns general procedures and rules, or day-to-day messages. The staff must nonetheless always consider whether this practice can lead to, for example, problematic power relations between inmates.8 The Parliamentary Ombudsman has stated that there is a risk associated with using other inmates as interpreters. — Some foreign inmates expressed that they had to rely on other inmates for information. 6 The CPT’s recommendation on this point was followed up by an amendment to the Director General of Public Prosecutions’ circular 4/2006 of 24 March 2012. 7 The Correctional Service, Foreign nationals in the Correctional Service. Handbook for staff, 2015, pp. 73–74. 8 Ibid. —