Short-term deprivation of liberty long delays in getting someone to escort them to the toilet. For example during the inspection visit to the Central District police station in Madrid one of the detainees stated “it took them ages to take me to the bathroom”. At an interview in the Mossos d’Esquadra station in Girona a detainee stated “it took 20 minutes for them to take me to the bathroom, in spite of my calling the officers”. 60.  Most of the places of deprivation of liberty visited had sufficient cells to cater for the number of detainees held there, and were compliant with the separation criteria envisaged in Article 521 of the LECrim. However, a detainee held at the Central District police station in Madrid stated that he was being held “in a cell with five more detainees, and there is not much room”. At the Central Registry of Detainees in Madrid it was found that although the establishment had sufficient cells all the detainees were held together in just a few of them. This overcrowding must be avoided by reducing the number of detainees permitted per cell, as recommended in paragraph 50 of the Annual Report 2010. This would also prevent other detainees from being disturbed in excess when one person needs to be removed from the cell, e.g. to visit the bathroom. It was observed that persons detained for criminal offences were not kept separate from those detained for infringement of the Foreign Nationals Act [Ley de extranjería]. The Ombudsman feels that when both types of detainee are held in the same place of deprivation of liberty measures should be taken to ensure that they are held in separate cells. In general the ratio of detainees per cell is satisfactory, enabling the separation criteria envisaged in Article 521 of the LECrim to be met Video-surveillance monitor showing a cell at the Central Registry of Photo 9 Detainees in Madrid 61.  Shortcomings in regard to the size of cells were observed at the GC headquarters in Albacete, the CNP station attached to the Regional Government of Valencia, the GC barracks in las Rozas and the local police station in Castelló/ Castellón. The GC report that the cells in the said headquarters building are no longer in use, as new cells have been built, and the CNP reported during the visit that the cells at the said station had in fact never been used. At the Las Rozas barracks the double cells measure 4,24 m2 and the individual cells 3.54 m2. It is reTHE OMBUDSMAN OF SPAIN  Shortcomings were observed in regard to the size of cells  71