this regard at Oberhavel Police Station in Brandenburg. Once the call system there had been pressed, officers could only switch it off again from inside the custody cell itself. Where the custody suite is located separately from the guard room or if it is in another part of the building, an intercom system is advisable. In many custody cells, the light can only be switched on or off. It should be possible to adjust the lighting in custody cells to ensure that persons taken into custody are able to sleep, while at the same time reducing the risk of injury and enabling detainees to find their way in the dark. It is recommended that access to natural light be provided, even for short periods of detention. risks entailed, its use in confined spaces is not a proportionate measure under any circumstances. Pepper spray should therefore be avoided in custody 32 facilities. 2.2.11 – Visibility of custody cells Bremen City Centre Police Station has a short-term custody cell adjacent to the guard room which is visible to visitors. This custody cell is used to accommodate juveniles and other persons who should not be detained in standard custody cells. When physical restraint is applied in Police Station 14 in Hamburg, a room is used that is visible from the station’s guard room through a glass pane. This means that persons other than the station staff present in the guard room are also able to see into the room. When using such areas, it should be ensured that they are not visible to unauthorised persons. 2.2.8 – Notice of rights In Brandenburg, Hamburg and MecklenburgWestern Pomerania, persons who have been taken into custody under the Police Acts of those Länder are not informed of their rights in writing. Information leaflets are only provided in cases of deprivation of liberty under the Code of Criminal Procedure. In Hannover Mitte Police Station, information leaflets for persons taken into custody under the Police Act were only available in German. Regardless of the legal basis on which persons are taken into custody, they must be informed of their rights in writing, immediately and in a language they understand. 2.2.12 – Right to medical examination In Solingen Police Station, one officer took it upon himself to decide whether or not to grant the request of a person detained in custody to be examined by a doctor of their choosing. Every person taken into custody has the right to consult a doctor. This must be guaranteed in every case and without exception. 2.2.13 – Respectful treatment Respect for the privacy of persons detained in custody should be ensured at all times. For instance, staff members should indicate their presence in a suitable manner before looking through a peephole. The detainee should be given enough time to get ready before being observed. Generally, detainees should be spoken to using polite forms of address. 2.2.9 – Custody documentation In most of the police stations visited, the custody documentation was incomplete. Moreover, in some stations the custody record book does not even allow for records of important aspects, such as whether 31 information on rights was provided. Senior officers should check at regular intervals whether the documentation is complete. These checks must also be documented. 2.2.14 – Confidentiality of conversations Persons in custody must be given the opportunity to have confidential conversations with their lawyers, doctors or relatives. The CPT has previously stated that there is no justification for police officers 33 regularly being present during medical examinations. 2.2.10 – Weapons in custody In a number of police stations in Bavaria, Bremen, Hamburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Lower Saxony, police officers carry weapons in the custody suite. Weapons pose a risk in custody facilities and should be laid down before entering the custody suite. The same applies to the use of pepper spray in a custody suite. Police stations of the Federal Police and the Saarland Police Force have the option of using pepper spray. However, due to the significant health 2.2.15 – Basic and further training Further training on the topics of rights of persons deprived of liberty, intercultural skills, suicide prevention and de-escalation are of great importance 32 ECHR, Tali v. Estonia, 66393/10, 13/02/2014, margin no. 78; CPT/Inf (2008) 33, margin no. 86. CPT Report of 28/07/2006, CPT/Inf (2006) 36, margin no. 28. 33 31 See Chapter II. 5.11 – “Custody documentation”. 32