infringement of the human rights of juveniles.
Recommendations of the European Committee for the Prevention or Torture and
Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT), stipulated in the report on
the visit in Poland in 2004, for the Polish government (Council of Europe, Strasburg,
11.04.2005); CPT (2005)3.
§ 44 The CPT recommends that the Polish authorities take the following steps at the police
establishments for children: ensure that staff working at police establishments for children
benefit from suitable initial and ongoing training.
Extract from the 9th General Report [CPT/Inf (99) 12]
§ 26 In this respect, the CPT wishes to stress that, regardless of their age, persons deprived
of their liberty should only be searched by staff of the same gender and that any search
which requires an inmate to undress should be conducted out of the sight of custodial staff
of the opposite gender; these principles apply a fortiori in respect of juveniles
§ 33 All such staff, including those with purely custodial duties, should receive professional
training, both during induction and on an ongoing basis, and benefit from appropriate
external support and supervision in the exercise of their duties. Moreover, the management
of such centres should be entrusted to persons with advanced leadership skills, who have
the capacity to respond in an effective manner to the complex and competing demands
placed upon them, both by juveniles and by Staff.
Decision No 346 of the Chief Police Commander of 9 August 2004 on Police officers
service in police children emergency centres (Dz.U. KGP 04. 16. 101)
§ 2 During their stay in a centre Police officers-tutors (At least two police officers on
duty)are responsible for juveniles. They should have at least college degree and
pedagogical training.
§ 3 In centres where girls are placed, all searching activities should be done by women
police officers.
In two facilities (the Police emergency centres in Bielsko-Biała and in Legnica)
not all police officers completed pedagogical courses, which means they did not meet
the requirements stipulated in the principles of law. In the Police Emergency Centre in
Legnica, the staff participates in an annual training on the specificity of work in police
emergency centres. The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture considers
the work with juveniles deprived of their liberty to be particularly demanding. For that
reason, the staff appointed to cope with the task should be carefully selected in respect
of personal maturity and ability to meet the challenges of the work and to take care of
this age-group. In particular, the staff should be committed to the work with young
people and able to manage and motivate juveniles, for whom he is responsible for54.
Taking into consideration this criterion, the National Preventive Mechanism
recommended that police officers taking care of juveniles in the Police Emergency
Centre for Children in Bielsko-Biała should take part in relevant trainings, extending
their knowledge and skills in the area of pedagogy. The Police City Commander in
Bielsko-Biała informed that the police officers employed as tutors in the Police
Emergency Centre for Children taking care of juveniles were going to undergo
pedagogical training. Police officers working in the facility participate in an ongoing
internal professional training including practical aspects of dealing with juveniles as
well as knowledge on legal principles of juvenile proceedings. (Due to professional
54
Extract from the 9th General Report [CPT/Inf (99) 12] 33.
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