than they are and whose career thus far involves a string of six-monthly contracts. If a
legislative amendment is required to stabilise the situation, this must be done;
-
training which must lead to certification, without which the position of youth worker
may not be performed: such training must guarantee the professionalism of the staff as
youth workers and provide them with the inter-personal skills they need to be able to
work in a place of detention (handling violence, exercising discipline, awareness of the
legal situation of the juveniles under their care);
-
a stable management, of whom there must be enough staff, qualified in the two areas
mentioned above and in performing management duties;
-
supervision, which needs to go beyond a distant vision or one that is limited to the
CEF management's relations with the courts: the Judicial Youth Protection Service
Directorate must ensure, whether through its own rules of procedure or through the
agreements it signs with associations, that regular inspections are carried out entailing
the sustainable presence of third parties within the centre itself.
5. Police custody facilities in 2017
Police custody facilities, the size and activity of which vary extensively, form the largest category of
places inspected by the CGLPL. The vast majority of them come under the Minister of the Interior
on account of his authority over the national police and gendarmerie and, to a lesser extent, the
Minister for the Budget, on account of his authority over customs19.
Established by Article 62-2 of the Code of criminal procedure, police custody is a detention
measure decided upon by a law enforcement officer, under the control of the judicial authority, whereby a person
reasonably suspected on one or more grounds of committing or attempting to commit an offence punishable by
imprisonment is held at the disposal of investigators.
Such a measure must constitute the sole means of achieving at least one of the following objectives:
1° Enable the execution of investigations requiring the person's presence or participation;
2° Guarantee that the person is brought before the Public Prosecutor so that the latter can determine what
action should be taken on the investigation;
3° Prevent the person from tampering material evidence or proof;
4° Prevent the person from pressuring witnesses or victims as well as their family or relatives;
5° Prevent the person from consulting with other people who are likely to be fellow perpetrators or accomplices;
6° Guarantee the implementation of measures aimed at ending the crime or offence.
Police custody is pronounced for 24 hours and may be extended up to 48 hours by the
prosecutor's office and, for certain crimes and offences, it may be extended up to 96 hours - and even
six days for terrorism cases.
The person in police custody is entitled to a right to information on the offence for which
s/he is being held and on his/her rights during the measure, the right to notify next of kin (relatives,
employer or consulate), the right to a medical examination and the right to remain silent and to legal
counsel. S/he is placed under the protection of the gendarmerie or police under the conditions set out
19
Customs are authorised to implement two deprivation of liberty regimes: customs holding and, within judicial customs
departments, police custody.
31
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