| 37 Cases concluded in 2018 in relation to monitoring activities 29 cases about suicide attempts, deaths etc. in Prison and Probation Service institutions or among persons in police custody. Three of the cases resulted in criticism. Further, six cases were opened on the Ombudsman’s own initiative (four of which in direct continuation of monitoring visits). Two of the cases resulted in criticism or formal or informal recommendations. Selected investigations Better prevention of suicides: In an immigration detention centre, there had been several incidents within a few years of detainees trying to commit suicide by hanging themselves from exposed pipes on the ceilings. The Ombudsman pointed out this trend to the authorities in charge. The authorities replied that they would ensure that the pipes were hidden. (News story published on 1 June 2018). Tolerated residence is stressful: The Ombudsman investigated the conditions for persons with tolerated residence status who were required to reside in a departure centre and in fact resided there. His conclusion was that the overall conditions for this category of persons were to be regarded as very stressful and as severely restricting even basic aspects of living. However, the Ombudsman was of the opinion that the general conditions for these persons did not contravene, for instance, the European Convention on Human Rights. (Case No. 2018-18 and news story published on 29 May 2018). Information available in cases about suicides/ suicide attempts by inmates was inadequate: In three cases about suicides/suicide attempts in the same local prison, the Ombudsman looked into, among other things, whether staff ought to have paid more attention to the inmates prior to the incidents and, for instance, should have checked on them more frequently or called in a doctor. The Ombudsman had no grounds for repudiating the authorities’ assessment of the need for checking up on inmates or calling in a doctor, but in two of the cases, the Ombudsman criticised the absence of adequate information about the facts of the cases. The Ombudsman called for increased awareness in relation to use of pepper spray: Based on a specific case, the Ombudsman urged the Prison and Probation Service to consider gen­­­­e­ rally whether there was a need for taking steps to ensure that the rules are observed when pepper spray is used against inmates in Prison and Probation Service institutions. The Ombudsman also pointed out the importance of adequate documentation in such cases in order that the legality of the use of force can actually be verified. (News story published on 4 January 2019).