Report of the Human Rights Defender on the activities of the National Preventive Mechanism in Poland in 2013 3C.3. Areas requiring improvement 3C.3.1. Treatment In one of the Police emergency centres for children the visitors learned that 20 detained juveniles stayed there in excess of 72 hours (between 5 and 23 days).158 In each of these cases, the reason behind prolonged stays of juveniles was waiting for a place in juvenile shelters after a judge issued a decision on placement in this type of establishment. Such a state of affairs resulted primarily from the absence of a provision setting out the duration of stay of a juvenile in a Police emergency centre for children after a court issues a decision on placement of a juvenile in a juvenile shelter. Representatives of the National Preventive Mechanism noted that a common practice of courts was to issue a decision on juveniles’ stay in a Police emergency centre for children until their transport to the selected establishment. Usually it took a few days. The Human Rights Defender highlighted the problem many times in her general petitions159 and in the Report on visits to the Police emergency centres for children carried out by the National Preventive Mechanism.160 The recommendations of the Human Rights Defender were put to practice in the Act amending the Act on juvenile delinquency proceedings and certain other acts,161 adopted on 30 August 2013. Among a number of changes to the Act, Article 32g § 8 was introduced, which stipulates that in the event of an order of placement of a juvenile in a juvenile shelter or temporary placement in a juvenile care centre, professional foster family or a medical establishment, the juvenile may stay in a Police emergency centre for children for a time necessary to transport him/her to the relevant professional foster family or to the relevant medical establishment, centre or shelter, yet no longer than by further five days. Visitors discovered no instances of ill treatment in any of the visited establishments. However, in one Police emergency centre for children NPM representatives learned, on the basis of individual interviews with juveniles, that establishment personnel inflicted punishments on charges in the form of physical exercise (e.g. “push-ups” or “press-ups”) for infractions such as swearing and inappropriate attitude towards staff members. 3C.3.2. Right to health care In addition to the above systemic problem, during visits to one of the Police emergency centres for children the visitors found that the time of examination was not always stated on a medical certificate. Police Emergency Centre for Children in Krakow. RPO-672816-VII-720.8.1/11/JJ. 160 HRD Bulletin. Źródła 2012, No 6. 161 Dz. U. item 1165. 158 159 53