npm annual report 2016 / observations and recommendations • In police prisons, remand prisoners are usually given bedlinen made of cloth. The Deputy-Ombudsman recommended that police prisons should ensure, on their own initiative, that the bedlinen used by remand prisoners are clean and undamaged and that they are changed when necessary. • The confidentiality of phone calls with an attorney was not ensured in two police prisons, as the supervising warder was able to hear the remand prisoner’s part of the conversation. Comment: The police reported that practices have been changed after the visit. • The visits of an attorney may only be supervised if this is necessary or specifically requested by the attorney or the remand prisoner. As a rule, supervision cannot be considered necessary. The visit can take place in a room with a CCTV camera if the attorney and the remand prisoner can ensure that the camera is not on (Vantaa). The Deputy-Ombudsman recommended that any cameras in such visiting rooms should be covered and the attorney and the remand prisoner should be clearly told that the camera is not on. • In previous years, attention has been paid to the fact that prisoners’ toilet facilities were within the reach of CCTV cameras, meaning that there was no protection of privacy. The problem is exacerbated if the warder is of a different gender than the prisoner. The issue had still not been dealt with in two police prisons even though the National Police Board had already drawn the police departments’ attention to the problem. Comment: The police prisons resolved the issue after the visit. • It was observed during visits that warders were not familiar with the appeal provisions of the act on the treatment of persons in police custody (841/2006). The provisions apply, among other things, to decisions concerning the possession of property. The forms needed for the decision-making procedure and for making a claim for a revised decision were also not available. This was the case in the majority of police prisons visited. Comment: The police have reported addressing the issue in their internal communications and ensuring the availability of the forms. • Police prisons did not have written information about the authorities that supervise police prisons to be provided to persons deprived of their liberty if they are unsatisfied with the way they have been treated or want to make a complaint for some other reason. The Deputy-Ombudsman considers it justified for police prisons to have written information about supervisory authorities. 21