reflects the diversity of the population.8 In this connection, adequate remuneration of police officers is an important tool to attract the best candidates and retain highly competent staff. The development of appropriate police education, initial preparation and ongoing training in the application of human rights standards, national norms and safeguards are also key to improving police practices. In the CPT’s experience, professional policing goes hand-in-hand with adequate training on the use of force in compliance with the principles of lawfulness, necessity and proportionality. Training should also provide opportunities to acquire appropriate investigative skills, taking due account of the age, gender, state of health, any disability or any other circumstances which may render certain persons under investigation particularly vulnerable. Moreover, no significant change can be expected without strong police leadership and management which scrupulously supervise the observance of procedural safeguards and convey firm and unambiguous messages of zero tolerance of police ill-treatment. Greater police accountability is indeed a crucial factor. Police officers should always be identifiable9 and clear reporting procedures and “whistle-blower” protective measures should be put in place. Any allegation or other information indicative of police ill-treatment should be effectively investigated and any perpetrators of police ill-treatment be brought to justice.10 72. Last but not least, the setting-up and development of effective – internal and external – monitoring mechanisms, in particular national preventive mechanisms (NPMs) established under the Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT), can contribute to a significant change in police culture. Investigative interviewing – a paradigm shift 73. In countries where the CPT receives allegations of torture and other forms of ill-treatment in the context of police interviews, the Committee generally finds that criminal investigations are too often geared towards the objective of obtaining confessional evidence or other information. In criminal justice systems that place a premium on confessions, the risk of ill-treatment and other unlawful action in the context of police interviews is increased. Indeed, the focus on confessional evidence has led to wrongful convictions. Moreover, in a few countries it has become apparent that key performance indicators for police officers are heavily based on high “clear-up” rates, which may have a negative effect on police behaviour when carrying out interviews. 74. Since its inception, the Committee has placed particular emphasis on the development of clear rules or guidelines on the carrying out of police interviews. More specifically, the CPT has repeatedly stressed that the aim of police interviews must be to obtain accurate and reliable information in order to seek the truth about matters under investigation and not to obtain a confession from a person already 8. See in particular General Policy Recommendation No. 11 of the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) on combating racism and racial discrimination in policing. 9. For instance, members of specialised police forces and uniformed police officers should always wear a clearly distinctive insignia and a prominent identification number on the outside of their uniform/on their helmet. 10. See, in this respect, the 14th General Report of the CPT: CPT/Inf (2004)28, paragraphs 25 ff. Page 32 ►General Report of the CPT, 2018