2. C  ases of torture identified by the courts in 2016 Prevention of torture consists not only in the regular monitoring of places of detention by way of visiting them, but also in conducting educational and information activities. Consequently, the NMPT on annual basis analyses final judgments delivered under Article 246 of the Penal Code. In 2016, 6 judgments became final, pursuant to which a total of 9 police officers were convicted under Article 246 of the Penal Code (hereinafter: the PC)284. The article provides that a public officer or any other person acting under his orders, who uses force, unlawful threat, or otherwise torments another person, either physically or psychologically, for the purpose of obtaining specific testimony, explanations, information or a statement shall be subject to the penalty of deprivation of liberty for a period from 1 to 10 years. In view of the fact that in the period 2008 - 2015 courts delivered final judgments convicting a total of 33 officers in 22 cases, it should be emphasized that the scale of the use of torture by the police is increasing. For the needs of this Report, representatives of the NMPT have analysed the final court judgments from the point of view of three basic safeguards that protect persons deprived of their liberty against torture. These are: access to a  lawyer, the right to a  medical examination and the right of the person concerned to have the fact of his/her detention notified to a  third party 285. The analysis of the contents of the indictments and the judgments delivered in 2016 clearly indicates that the acts committed by the police officers concerned constituted torture as defined in the United Nations Convention Data as per the National Criminal Record. Analyzed cases: District Court (DC) in Bełchatów, file no. II K25/15; DC in Tarnowskie Góry, file no. VI K539/15; DC in Pruszków, file no. II K375/13; DC Warsaw Praga Południe, file no. III K 1131/13; DC Warszawa Śródmieście file no. V K 822/13. The judgment of the DC in Kłodzko, issued in the case II K 725/12, was revoked and referred back for reexamination in relation to one of the two defendants. 285 The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) indicates three fundamental safeguards against the ill-treatment of detained persons by the police: the right of access to a lawyer, the right to request a medical examination by a doctor of his/ her choice and the right of the person concerned to have the fact of his/her detention notified to a third party. Cf. Article 36 of the CPT’s Second General Report [CPT Inf (92)3]. 284 98