assigned to areas where women are incarcerated 2.Office of the Attorney-General and Judicial Police (a)Introduction 117.The attorney-general’s offices (public prosecutors) and the judicial investigative police are the accusatory bodies that can hold persons accused of criminal offences in custody for a significant period of time, during which they are generally interrogated and their statement is taken. Because these entities are not independent judicial authorities, but especially because they are accusatory bodies, there is a confluence of circumstances that puts accused persons at risk of being subjected to acts of physical or psychological violence intended to impair their sensory ability and unnerve them, thereby inducing them to make incriminating statements. (b)Detention records 118.The Subcommittee wishes to remind the State party that the maintenance of reliable records of persons deprived of their liberty is one of the essential safeguards against ill-treatment and is an essential condition for the effective exercise of due process guarantees such as the right to challenge the legality of detention (habeas corpus) and the right of the detainee to be brought before a judge promptly. Failure to record the deprivation of liberty of a person properly increases the risk that they will be subjected to ill-treatment. The delegation observed that in many of the jails in the offices of attorneys-general visited adequate records of detainee intake and release were not being kept. The Subcommittee recommends that intake records should indicate the reasons for the arrest; the exact time of the arrested person ’ s arrival at the place of custody, the duration of the situation of deprivation of liberty, the identity of the authority who ordered the person ’ s detention and of the officials responsible for enforcing it, precise information concerning the place of custody, and the time of the detained person ’ s first appearance before a judicial or other authority. 119.In the detention centres visited, particularly those maintained by the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the delegation noted that records were not always being kept. The Subcommittee recommends that the offices of attorneys-general develop a system for documenting the chain of custody of detainees, with a standardized record for logging, immediately and completely, the essential information about the deprivation of liberty of the individual concerned and about the personnel responsible for that individual at all times, together with information on the doctors responsible for certifying the individual ’ s physical and mental integrity. This should enable the responsible officials and the persons concerned to have access to this information, with, of course, due respect for the right to privacy and dignity of persons in custody. All entries in the record should be signed by an officer and countersigned by a superior. (c)Information on the rights of persons deprived of their liberty 120.In order for persons deprived of their liberty to be able to exercise their rights effectively, they must, first and foremost, be informed of those rights from the moment they are deprived of liberty and must be able to understand them. If people do not know their rights, their ability to exercise them effectively is seriously impaired. The right of persons deprived of their liberty to be informed of their rights is a fundamental element in the prevention of torture and ill-treatment. The Subcommittee considers the obligation to inform detainees of their rights an important safeguard and a condition for the effective exercise of due process rights. 121.Members of the delegation interviewed many people in custody who alleged that they had not been informed of their rights at the time of their arrest or later. The delegation did, however, observe that in some of the jails maintained by the attorneys-general visited, information and notices were posted on the rights of persons accused of criminal offences, including information on the prohibition of torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, the right to a public defender for persons without adequate financial means, the right to contact family and other rights, which, if they are actually respected, provide safeguards for the prevention of torture and illtreatment. 122.The Subcommittee emphasizes that it is the duty of the Mexican authorities to ensure that all detainees are informed of their fundamental rights and of all relevant due process rights to which they are entitled at this stage of the proceedings. The Subcommittee also stresses that the police have a duty to allow the exercise of all these rights from the moment in which a person is deprived of their liberty. 123. The Subcommittee recommends increasing the publication of posters and other means of disseminating information on these safeguards, such as pamphlets describing the rights of persons deprived of their liberty. These pamphlets should be prominently displayed in all places of detention. In addition, the Subcommittee recommends that all persons deprived of their liberty should be made aware of their rights and the assistance of interpreters of indigenous or foreign languages be sought when necessary. (d)Right to notification of a third party 124.The Subcommittee is of the view that a person who is detained without anyone knowing their whereabouts is at greater risk of torture and ill-treatment. The right of detained persons to have a person of their choosing informed of their detention is, without a doubt, a fundamental safeguard against torture and ill-treatment. 125.The Subcommittee delegation interviewed detainees who had not been given the opportunity to inform their families of their detention. This lack of awareness of the detainee’s whereabouts on the part of family members increases the likelihood that the detainee will be subjected to torture or cruel treatment. In Jalisco, for example, members of the delegation noted that in many cases detainees were not permitted to make a telephone call because they wanted to call a