fundamental and human rights �.� national preventive mechanism against torture 3.5.9 THE FINNISH DEFENCE FORCES In 2018, the NPM conducted three visits to the detention facilities of the Finnish Defence Forces. All of the visits were made unannounced. The sites visited were: – The detention facilities for persons deprived of their liberty of the Armoured Brigade's Riihimäki unit, 7 June 2018, two detention rooms (3117/2018) – The detention facilities for persons deprived of their liberty of Karelian Air Command, 20 November 2018, three detention rooms (6084/2018) – The detention facilities for persons deprived of their liberty of Guards Jaeger Regiment, 10 December 2018, three detention rooms capable of accommodating 12 persons (6511/2018) The treatment of person deprived of their liberty in Defence Forces facilities is governed by the Act on the Treatment of Persons in Police Custody. During these visits, the NPM paid attention to the conditions and treatment of those deprived of their liberty, their access to information, and their security. 3.5.10 THE FINNISH BORDER GUARD AND CUSTOMS The Finnish Border Guard currently uses 15 closed spaces for the detention of persons deprived of their liberty. The facilities are typically shared by the Border Guard and Customs. Customs also has facilities for its exclusive use in three locations. These detention facilities are used for short-term detention before transferring detainees to a police prison, detention unit, or reception centre. The treatment of persons deprived of their liberty at Customs or Border Guard facilities is governed by the Act on the Treatment of Persons in Police Custody. The duration of detention in these facilities varies from one to several hours. The maxi- mum detention time is 12 hours in all cases. The locations, standard and furnishing of the facilities vary. The Border Guard Headquarters have approved the rules for Border Guard’s detention facilities and issued regulations for detention facilities. Similarly, Customs has approved of the detention facilities used by it and issued its own rules for its detention facilities. The scope of the Customs rules for detention facilities has been under an own-initiative investigation by the Ombudsman (6194/2017). No visits to the Border Guard’s or Customs’ detention facilities were made in the reporting year. 3.5.11 THE CRIMINAL SANCTIONS FIELD The Criminal Sanctions Agency operates under the Ministry of Justice and is responsible for the enforcement of sentences to imprisonment and community sanctions. The Criminal Sanctions Agency runs 26 prisons. Prisoners serve their sentences either in a closed prison or an open institution. Of Finnish prisons, 15 are closed and 11 open institutions. In addition, certain closed prisons also include open units. Visits mainly focus on closed prisons. The average number of prisoners has remained stable at around 3,000 prisoners for several years now. There are major construction projects related to prisons currently under way in the criminal sanctions field. The greatest international attention has been focused on the prisons of Helsinki and Hämeenlinna, which have used “bucket cells”, i.e. cells without a flash toilet in them. This has no longer been the case in Helsinki Prison after the completion of the renovation in the spring of 2017. The replacement of Hämeenlinna Prison with a new facility has been planned, with the new prison slated for completion in the autumn of 2020. Indoor air problems were discovered in the current facilities, however, and use of the prison building was discontinued immediately in December 2018. 83