police outside the United Kingdom and is promoted by various international human rights and torture prevention bodies.13 14. Other preventive measures, which are vital in combating police torture and ill-treatment, but which for the sake of space will not be further described in this paper, include monitoring of police work by independent mechanisms. 14 Furthermore, a clear commitment by the highest authorities to fight impunity of perpetrators of police illtreatment is another crucial preventive measure.15 15. While certain safeguards and measures will be more effective and better suited to eradicate particular forms of ill-treatment (e.g. investigative interviewing techniques reduce the risk of police ill-treatment during questioning; identification requirements and helmet cameras that are worn by police officers during arrests or crowd control operations aim at preventing excessive use of force), only a holistic approach will lead to lasting results. Indeed, practitioners in countries that have come a long way in overcoming police ill-treatment, will often refer to a change of police culture or even a change of culture within the criminal justice system as a whole, rather than single safeguards that have made a difference. Safeguards are not “watertight” and can in practice be circumvented,16 as long as police officers believe – and the police service condones - that ill-treating apprehended persons and suspects is an acceptable or even necessary and effective way of carrying out police work. 16. A change of police culture starts with competitive recruitment processes based on strict selection criteria of officers; adequate remuneration of police officers, and a review of performance indicators; initial and ongoing training in human rights standards and the application of national norms and safeguards. What is even more important is professional training in the proportionate use of force and investigative skills, such as investigative interviewing; equipping the police with modern forensic tools; and strong leadership within the police that supervises the observance of legal safeguards and conveys a zero-tolerance policy vis-à-vis ill-treatment. 17. In addition, other actors of the criminal justice system, such as judges and prosecutors, must support this institutional change, by inter alia insisting on alternative forms of evidence than confessions. Further, judges should exclude without exception any evidence that appears to have been extracted under duress. Finally, they could contribute to change by routinely inquiring during custody hearings how persons have been treated during apprehension and while in police custody. In particular the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, in his interim report (A/71/298, 5 August 2016) makes a convincing case for the benefits of investigative interviewing and calls for the development of a universal protocol identifying a set of standards for non-coercive interviewing methods and procedural safeguards. See also, UN Human Rights Council, Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment: safeguards to prevent torture during police custody and pretrial detention, A/HRC/31/L.26/Rev.1, 23 March 2016, paras. 10-13; Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Summary of the discussions held during the seminar entitled “Exchanging national experiences and practices on the implementation of effective safeguards to prevent torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment during police custody and pretrial detention”, A/HRC/37/27, 26 December 2017, paras. 17 ff. 14 These mechanisms should be endowed with a possibility to carry out regular and unannounced visits to places of deprivation of liberty and to speak with detained persons in private. 15 Preconditions for the fight against impunity are: a well-functioning complaints system and early detection of police ill-treatment through systematic medical examinations in pre-trial detention facilities; the existence of an independent investigative body that can carry out impartial, prompt and thorough investigations into allegations or indications of ill-treatment; victim and witness as well as whistle-blower protection measures; and a criminal offence of torture under national criminal legislation, with sanctions that are commensurate to the gravity of this offence. 16 For instance, the tightening of certain procedural safeguards can lead in practice to the emergence of other unwanted behaviour, such as the questioning of suspects in unofficial places outside of police stations. 13 6