2.6.2.2 Placing prisoners into security cells with insufficient substantiation During visits to the Linz and Steyr police detention centres in the reporting period, the commission noted many serious deficits in the documentation and substantiation for placing prisoners into specially secured cells (security cells). In many cases, the documentation contained insufficient or no substantiation of whether the prerequisites for placement into a specially secured cell under the Code of Conduct for Detention had been met. The commission also criticised serious divergences between the medical documentation and the documentation for the measures taken in some cases. Repeated criticism of insufficient substantiation This raises great concern with respect to the constitutionally guaranteed right to personal freedom since only that degree of deprivation of freedom that is absolutely necessary is allowed, and detention may not be made more restrictive without detailed substantiation. Therefore, the NPM considers it to be absolutely necessary to exercise a special degree of care in substantiating the decision to place a prisoner into a specially secured cell. The commission found it noteworthy that placements into specially secured cells were frequently made due to fear that the prisoner was a danger to himself and/or to property. In this context, the treatment of highly inebriated, substance-impaired and mentally ill persons must be scrutinised. Alcoholic intoxication and the excited state caused by alcoholisation are mental syndromes. Therefore, the treatment of persons affected in this way should be within the competence of a clinic specialising in such afflictions. A physician’s recommendation of close observation in a specially secured cell cannot replace the necessary competent specialised diagnosis and treatment of the disease. The failure to provide medical care in these cases is problematic in light of the state’s special duty of care when it deprives persons of their freedom. Moreover, in such cases, the principle of equivalent healthcare, demanded by the CPT (see CPT standards, p. 94, margin no. 32), is violated. Based on the findings of the commission, a request was made to the Federal Ministry of the Interior to strongly remind police stations that the grounds under the Code of Conduct for Detention for placing a prisoner into a specially secured cell must be precisely, carefully and clearly documented in each individual case. In addition, the NPM believed it was necessary to sensitise personnel to the fact that competent specialised diagnosis and treatment must, if necessary, be ensured to prisoners that are a danger to themselves and/or to property or when dealing with highly inebriated, substance-impaired or mentally disordered persons. 121 Strict requirements for documentation