18 the police authority The Police Authority The Police Authority may hold individuals deprived of their liberty in police custody facilities. At the end of 2019, there were 124 custody facilities in Sweden with 1,291 places in total. Individuals apprehended or arrested are among those who are placed in police custody facilities. Individuals detained due to intoxication under the Care of Intoxicated Persons Act (1976:511) are also regularly placed in police custody facilities. In 2019, seven police custody facilities were inspected of which three were inspected for the first time.1 Four of the inspections were announced. The majority of these announced inspections concerned police custody facilities which are only open when needed. All inspections were carried out by or on behalf of the then Parliamentary Ombudsman Cecilia Renfors. She made statements following the inspections of the police custody facilities in Borlänge, Karlskrona, Luleå and Växjö. The current Parliamentary Ombudsman Per Lennerbrant made statements following the inspections of the police custody facilities in Arvika, Karlskoga and Kristinehamn. Parliamentary Ombudsman Per Lennerbrant has made decisions in all the cases involving a response from the Police Authority. 3.1 Observations made during this year’s inspections Police custody facilities are intended for short-term deprivations of liberty. Depending on the reason for which an individual has been placed in police custody, a period of deprivation of liberty can last from a few hours up to a maximum of a couple of days. In the inspections of police custody facilities, the focus is primarily on how the basic needs of individuals deprived of their liberty are met. These include their right to food, their ability to meet their individual hygiene needs and daily outdoor access. Another key issue is the safety and security of individuals deprived of their liberty. It is not uncommon for individuals held in police custody to be in poor physical or mental condition. Therefore, it is important to make a safety and security assessment of the individual held in custody. Furthermore, it is important that individuals deprived of their liberty are regularly monitored and that this monitoring is documented. 1 Police custody facilities in Arvika, Borlänge, Karlskoga, Karlskrona, Kristinehamn, Luleå and Växjö. The police custody facilities in Arvika, Karlskoga and Kristinehamn were inspected for the first time.