CAT/OP/ITA/1 Persons in need of immediate assistance might be in a situation of vulnerability requiring protection, in which case the coercive means are not only unnecessary and nonproportionate but may exacerbate the aforementioned vulnerability. 25. The SPT recommends that the State party consider vulnerability factors as part of an individual analysis on the criteria of necessity and proportionality of detention, conducting such an analysis in a systematic way and excluding vulnerable persons from detention. Furthermore, the SPT recommends that the State party consider removing from its legislation the provision of assistance as a reason of detention of migrants. 26. Regarding the practical obstacles to returning an individual as a reason for detention, the SPT notes that most of the practical obstacles are contingent on the cooperation of the country of origin, confirmation of the identity of the person or the availability of transport, which are beyond the control of the individual migrant. Therefore, in those cases where it is not possible to meet the above-mentioned practical conditions, the expulsion cannot be carried out and the persons awaiting deportation are released. The SPT is concerned at the possibility of repetitive detentions of the same individuals for the purpose of deportation, as several persons interviewed by the SPT were detained in CIEs for the second or third time. The SPT is particularly concerned at disproportionate punitive effect of the cumulative periods of multiple detentions in these cases, especially taking into account that individuals are deprived of liberty without having committed a criminal offence. 27. Taking into account the deleterious effects of detention on the mental and physical health of detainees, the SPT recommends that the State party take into account previous periods of detention for the purpose of deportation in the individual assessment of persons and substitute it, whenever possible, with non-custodial measures. The SPT recommends that the State party consider incorporating safeguards to prevent individuals from being administratively detained on multiple occasions cumulatively amounting to long periods. 28. The SPT is also aware of a number of readmission agreements Italy has signed with other countries, which provide for simplified procedures of return. During its visit the SPT observed how groups of migrants of the same nationality had been transferred from disembarkation directly to be detained in CIEs for the purpose of expulsion. The SPT is concerned that such agreements may foster a practice of collective expulsion, risk eroding the principle of using immigration detention as a measure of last resort, as well as treating certain groups of individuals differently, based on their nationality. 29. The SPT recommends that the State party ensure that readmission agreements do not lead to unnecessary and disproportionate use of detention or collective detention of groups of persons. 30. During the meetings with the authorities and civil society the SPT was informed about the large discrepancy between the numbers of arrivals versus the number of officially registered migrants, due to the refusal of many to be registered. During its visit in September 2015, the SPT learnt that a number of “hotspots” were to be established to ensure that all migrants are duly catalogued when entering the country. On the occasion of its follow up visit in February 2016, the SPT was informed that three out of six planned hotspots were functioning. Whilst recognizing that this procedure results from the transposition of a Directive of the European Commission, the SPT wishes to put on record its concerns with regards to the possibility of using force and detaining any migrants who resist the collection of fingerprints. Furthermore, the SPT is concerned at the lack of legal basis and clear safeguards for such detention and warns that the practice of deprivation of liberty of individuals for the sole purpose of collecting biometric data, such as fingerprinting, can be deemed unlawful and represents a risk of torture and ill-treatment. 7