the police authority 21 During the inspection of the police custody facility in Karlskrona, it emerged that it is very unusual for young persons taken into custody under the Care of Young Persons Act to be placed in police custody pending transportation. As a rule, a young person is taken into custody only once the Prison and Probation Service has confirmed that the transportation will take place and only then in as close a proximity as possible to when the transportation should occur. The individual is usually only then detained for a couple of hours and is not locked in a police cell. Following the inspection, the Parliamentary Ombudsman stated that it is positive that the police in Karlskrona apply the provision on detention in a way that means that the amount time spent in the police custody facilities need not be any longer than is absolutely necessary.11 Attempted suicides and acts of self-harm During the inspection of the police custody facility in Luleå, it emerged that there had been a large number of attempted suicides during 2007–2018. In over 20 of the cases, inmates had attached nooses to the interior fittings and fixtures of the police detention cells. In the majority of cases, the noose had been attached to the toilet door hinge or crevice. In four cases, the noose had been attached to the wall-mounted chairs found in detention cells. It also emerged that staff had pointed out that the cells are inadequate with respect to suicide and self-harm prevention on several occasions during the years in question. In August 2018, two further suicide attempts occurred in a similar manner, one of which was fatal. Following these incidents, the Police Authority decided that all inmates in the Norrbotten area’s police custody facilities would be monitored at intervals of no more than 15 minutes. The Police Authority also decided to renovate all its cells to reduce the ability to attach nooses to the interior fittings and fixtures. However, there was no change to the wall-mounted chairs.12 Following the inspection, the Parliamentary Ombudsman stated that an important aspect of the work in preventing suicides and other acts of selfharm is to ensure the police cells are designed and set up to prevent suicide attempts to the greatest possible extent. Shortcomings in the physical environment that increase the risk of such acts must be remedied as soon as they are discovered. In the view of the Parliamentary Ombudsman, it is very serious that it took more than ten years before the necessary changes were made to the police custody facility in Luleå and that this delay had very serious consequences. In the view of the Parliamentary Ombudsman, it was also remarkable that the wall-mounted chairs in the police cells had not been changed. The Parliamentary Ombudsman also stated that it is important that the Police Authority learns from the experiences at the police custody facility 11 See the Parliamentary Ombudsmen’s report p. 3 and 5, ref. no. O 33-2019. 12 See the Parliamentary Ombudsmen’s report p. 3 and 4, ref. no. O 2-2019. The design and set up of police cells is an important part of the work to prevent suicides and other acts of self-harm.