documentation in this reporting period as well, such as incomplete
documentation of when handcuffs were removed or the lack of the
signatures of detained persons on transcripts and records. Usually the
commissions speak to the commanders on duty regarding the
avoidance of deficiencies in documentation in the course of the
concluding meetings.
concluding meetings
Encouragingly, the Federal Ministry of the Interior not only undertook
sensitisation measures at individual police stations, but also reminded
all police departments of the requirement for full documentation of
detentions in a decree.
It was determined that the scope and content of the documentation
also differed within the individual Laender. Therefore, a uniform
standard for the maintenance of detention books should be created,
i.e. with respect to the necessary entries.
Detentions in police stations must be seamlessly and verifiably documented.
2.6.5.4.
Inadequate equipment at police stations
The commissions generally discuss deficiencies of the equipment at a
police station at the concluding meetings with the police station
management in order to quickly obtain improvements at that location
(see NPM Report 2014, p. 133 et seq.). Only in cases where no solution
can be found the NPM approaches the Federal Ministry of the Interior.
Elimination of
deficiencies often
promised while still on
site
In the reporting period, the deficiencies observed included a lack of
hygiene, a lack of toilets for female staff, an inadequately labelled
alarm button in a security cell and an inadequate heating system.
Encouragingly, the Federal Ministry of the Interior eliminated many of
these deficiencies.
By contrast, the lack of accessibility for persons with disabilities is a
point of criticism that generally cannot be eliminated – or at least
cannot be quickly eliminated. The Federal Ministry of the Interior has
developed a staged plan under the Federal Act on the Equal
Treatment
of
Persons
with
Disabilities
(BundesBehindertengleichstellungsgesetz), which provides information
regarding the date when each police station should be accessible
barrier-free. For about 300 police stations, which are not included in
the staged plan, it is not technically feasible to provide accessibility for
persons with disabilities. Therefore, these police stations must be
relocated by the end of 2019 or a different organisational solution
must be found. If this does not happen, the police stations that are not
included in the staged plan, will no longer be acceptable as of 31
December 2019. Notwithstanding this statutory standard, the NPM
considers it urgent that police stations become accessible to persons
with disabilities as soon as possible.
Alarm buttons must be adequately labelled to enable detained persons to contact the
guards.
140
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