Report of the Human Rights Defender on the activities of the National Preventive Mechanism in Poland in 2012
nor will he/she be able to respect the rights of the detained person or a person
brought to sober up. This is demonstrated by extraordinary incident occurring in
such places. The NPM representatives are aware that the proposed solution will
not eliminate the extraordinary incidents in these rooms, but it most probably
would contribute to reduction of their number and would prevent professional
burnout of the police officers working in these rooms and assigned with numerous
tasks of great responsibility.
5.3 Strengths and good practices
The visits have shown that in an overwhelming majority of establishments
the police officers treated the detained persons in a polite and respectful way. In
almost all establishments the detained persons interviewed by the NPM representatives reported that the police officers react quickly when they use the call
system. Moreover, the detainees emphasised that they had not experienced any
inappropriate treatment by the police officers on duty in the detention room.
In PDR in Brzozowo a good practice is to perform medical examination of all
detained persons in the admission room, regardless of the grounds for their detention or the declared health status.
5.4 Areas requiring improvement
1. Treatment
Although in most of the establishments the detained persons did not complain about their treatment, the NPM representatives found a case of inhuman
treatment122. A secured recording from the CCTV camera shows a police officer
on duty in the PDR pulling a detainee by an ear.
Moreover, the visiting team formulated accusations against this particular establishment relating to the use of a coercive measure. The CCTV recording shows
a detainee in a straitjacket with his legs tied and lying on the floor who is then
incapacitated like this, dragged along the floor. While being placed in the room
for detained persons, the detainee was not provided with a mattress and a pillow.
In relation to the suspicion of a criminal offence against the detainee, and fulfilling
her duty under Article 304(2) of the Code of Penal Procedure, the Human Right
122
PDR in Piastów.
64
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