Report of the CHR on the Activities of the National Preventive Mechanism in Poland 6. Police emergency centres for children 6.1 Introduction In 2015, the representatives of the NPM visited four Police emergency centres for children88. The PECC in Szczecin was closed during the visit due to major refurbishment. 6.2 Systemic problems 1) Detailed examination/Personal control The problem of detailed examination, which actually should be treated as a personal control of juveniles, was raised already in the Report of the NPM of 2013. In the letter of 2 April 201589, the Minister of the Interior shared the position taken by the Commissioner on the need to include provisions defining detailed examination during the admission and stay of a juvenile, among others, in a PECC, in a legal act of statutory rank. It should also be noted that any security measures (in this case – undressing), which interfere that much with human freedom and privacy, should be limited to the necessary minimum and exceptional situations. A letter on the matter and a reply of the Minister of the Interior were addressed in the chapter on PDRs. 2) Access to an attorney On 30 November 2015, the Commissioner for Human Rights sent a general letter to the Minister of the Interior and Administration90 on ensuring juveniles held in Police emergency centres for children with access to an attorney. In its report of 2 October 2015 (CRC/C/POL/CO/3-4) containing recommendations for the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child by Poland, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child expressed its concern that children in conflict with law are interviewed or have to make statements or sign documents in the absence of an attorney or another trusted companion. Having analysed the provisions in force by the Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights, it was concluded that juveniles’ right to defence may not be exercised in full. As a matter of fact, the rules of stay in Police emergency centres for children (PECCs) provide for the possibility of visits by parents, a defence attorney or a guardian only with the consent of a court, a PECC’s director or a Police officer responsible for a case. Access to an attorney is PECCs in: Kielce, Opole, Szczecin, Olsztyn. DKSiWZPC07902/2014; https://www.rpo.gov.pl/sites/default/files/Odpowied%C5%BA%20Podsekretarza%20Stanu%20w%20 MSW%20z%20dnia%202.04.2015%20r.%20na%20Raport%20RPO%20z%20dzia%C5%82alno%C5%9Bci%20KMP%20w%20 2013%20r..pdf 90 KMP.573.20.2015; https://www.rpo.gov.pl/sites/default/files/wyst%C4%85pienie%20gen.%20do%20MSWiA%2030.11.2015.pdf 88 89 42