Places visited by the National Preventive Mechanism in 2011 guardian if a Court issues a written order to that effect136, representatives of the Mechanism asked the III Family and Juvenile Division of the District Court for explanation. The chairman of the said Division replied that judges gave consent for visits paid to juveniles in ECCs in the presence of a police officer occasionally, in properly justified circumstances. In response to the NPM’s recommendations, Heads of the ECC in Radom and in Bydgoszcz were positive about the rule that visits take place without the presence of police officers. On the other hand, the head of ECC in Lublin announced that the presence of a staff member during visits paid by parents or guardians is often necessary for security reasons (as was also the case in the ECC in Olsztyn). He added that the Centre has a room equipped with a one-way mirror and a camera, which can be used provided that the number of juveniles accommodated in the Centre is not excessive. In order to clear all doubts related to this issue, the Mechanism continues to monitor this case. Moreover, the Municipal Police Chief in Olsztyn announced that the regulations on visits in the Centre include a provision stipulating that police officers on duty may deny a visit if a juvenile behaves reprehensibly. The NPM stresses that such provision is not grounded in the applicable legal provisions. Moreover, since penalties which may be imposed on a juvenile detained in an ECC have been listed in Article 6 of the Ordinance of the Minister of the Interior and Administration of 21 January 2002 on detailed rules governing the stay of juveniles in Police emergency centres for children137, the practice of imposing penalties which are not on the list has to be abandoned. At the same time, in the opinion of the Mechanism, the presence of police officers during visits of juveniles’ parents or guardians is permissible only in justified and exceptional cases when safety in the establishment or safety of a juvenile or of the visitors may be threatened, or if a court issues a written order that visits should be taking place in the presence of a staff member. Malpractice was also discovered in the ECC in Ostrów Wielkopolski, where juveniles, against whom court proceedings were underway, were not able to contact their relatives for 72 hours after they had been placed in the Centre. The inspectors also pointed out that this procedure was not grounded in a document of 26 January 2010, adopted by the Centre in Ostrów Wielkopolski, entitled: “Rights and duties of a juvenile detained in a Police Emergency Centre for Children”. The procedure, moreover, violates the provisions of the Ordinance of the Minister of the Interior and Administration of 2002 January on detailed rules governing the stay of juveniles in Police emergency centres for children138. In his response, the head of ECC announced that juveniles may be visited by relatives, and that the previous information resulted from a misunderstanding. The Mechanism asked the Voivodship Police Commander to clarify the issue. During the visits in the ECC in Bydgoszcz and in Lublin, the NPM’s representatives were informed that detained juveniles were prohibited to make any phone calls, whereas 136 137 138  RPO-665678-VII-720.8.1/11.  Dz.U. of 2002 No 10, item 104, as amended.  See: 5(1) 5 (Dz.U. of 2002 No 10, item 104, as amended). 75