the police authority
32
Ensuring that the physical environment is as safe as possible is one of several
components required to reduce the number of suicides and acts of self-harm
in police custody facilities. Other important aspects of the preventive work
are that safety and security assessments are made of individuals detained and
that decided monitoring is carried out and documented. Furthermore, it is
important that detainees in need of medical care are allowed to see a doctor.
The issue of individuals deprived of their liberty’s access to medical care has
been an important issue for a long time in the Parliamentary Ombudsmen’s
supervisory work.
Every police custody facility must have both access to a licensed doctor and
staff with adequate health and medical care training.57 The Parliamentary
Ombudsmen’s inspections show that access to health and medical care varies
between the country’s police custody facilities. Some police custody facilities
have healthcare personnel employed, while other police custody facilities have
resolved issues of access to health and medical care through agreements with
the regional authorities meaning that healthcare personnel come to the police
custody facility when necessary. However, several police custody facilities do
not have such agreements in place. In the reports that international bodies
have submitted following visits to or other inspections of Sweden, there are
statements regarding inmates’ access to health and medical care. The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) has called on Sweden
to ensure that individuals deprived of their liberty by being taken into police
custody are examined by qualified healthcare professionals. Furthermore, the
CPT has recommended that Sweden takes measures to ensure that individuals detained due to intoxication have immediate access to a nurse, if necessary.58 The UN Committee against Torture (CAT) has stated that Sweden
must take measures that guarantee that an individual is given the opportunity
for a medical examination by an independent doctor already at the start of
a deprivation of liberty.59 The Police Authority has begun a review of this
very important issue. Detainees’ access to health and medical care whilst
held in police custody will continue to be a key issue for the Parliamentary
Ombudsmen’s OPCAT activities.
57 See Section 15 of the Remand Prisons Ordinance.
58 See CPT/Inf (2016) 1 para 14 and 19.
59 See CAT/C/SWE/CO/6-7 para 7.
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