The custody facilities in Berlin are staffed by a small number of police officers, who are flanked mostly by public service employees who have received only six weeks’ training for the post. In the course of their work, these employees perform sovereign duties. According to a statement from the Berlin Senate Department for the Interior and Sport, the employees’ training includes components such as first aid and dealing with suicide attempts. However, there are doubts as to whether such a short programme can provide employees with sufficient training, in particular for responding to critical situations. Such public service employees should also take part in regular mandatory further training on important topics in police custody, such as suicide prevention, de-escalation and intercultural skills. In Frankfurt Police Station 4, the visiting commission was informed that the station’s remit had been significantly enlarged in recent years, while at the same time staff numbers had been reduced. The resulting staff shortage, the commission heard, meant that officers often had to come on duty at short notice on their days off for special operations such as securing a demonstration. This policy had a negative impact on job satisfaction and the atmosphere in the station, officers stated. As dissatisfaction among the officers can have an impact on interaction with persons detained in custody, measures should be taken to guarantee more reliable planning of officers’ duty rosters. for police officers. Such measures can develop officers’ confidence in dealing with the particular situations they encounter in custody. A high degree of sensitivity is required when it comes to the issue of discrimination. In certain police stations, disrespectful comments were made during the visits concerning persons in custody. This would suggest a lack of knowledge and awareness with regard to the problem of discrimination. Persons in custody should be treated without discrimination as a matter of course. Nor should the individual opinions of the officers influence treatment in custody. The topics mentioned above should form a core part of training and also be addressed in mandatory further training. 2.2.16 – Name badges Name badges can have a preventive effect, as they make it possible to identify officers and reduce the risk of assaults. Name badges also enable persons deprived of their liberty to communicate with officers in a more personal manner. This can have a positive effect on how they interact with the officers. The National Agency finds wearing name badges to be beneficial in custody facilities, as is currently practised, for example, in Brandenburg and SaxonyAnhalt. 2.2.17 – Noise pollution A custody cell in Berlin South-West Custody Facility is fitted with a very noisy ventilation system that cannot be switched off. The custody cells in Rosenheim Police Station are fitted with ventilators that make a clearly audible noise while operating, which detainees find to be an annoyance. As the custody facilities are often occupied at night, the fixtures and fittings in the cells must enable detainees to sleep. Noisy ventilators should therefore be replaced. 2.2.19 – Access to custody facilities In some Land police stations, the custody facilities are located at basement level. Often, these are accessed via a steep flight of stairs, which can cause a risk of falling when bringing people into custody. The National Agency recommends creating level access to custody facilities. 2.2.20 – Multiple occupancy without partitioned toilet areas 2.2.18 – Staff During several visits, the National Agency received reports that the planning of the duty roster did not always ensure there was one officer available at all times. The Police Custody Regulations of the Land of Thuringia states under Point 7 paragraph 4 that persons being held in custody should only be supervised by officers of the same gender; however, “if this is not possible then there must be at least two officers on duty.” In custody facilities, it must be ensured that detainees can be supervised by officers of the same gender. An officer of the same gender is indispensable, for example, when conducting searches on detainees. In Munich Police Station Support Services Division 6 and Euskirchen District Police Authority, the toilet areas in the multiple-occupancy custody cells are not completely separate with separate ventilation. In order to ensure humane detention conditions, it is indispensable that custody cells accommodating more than one person have a completely separate toilet with separate ventilation. Indeed, past decisions of the Federal Constitutional Court have found that detention in multiple-occupancy cells without 33