Short-term Deprivation of liberty 20. As was highlighted in paragraphs 468 of the 2010 Annual Report and 44 of the 2011 Annual Report, this Institution considers that access to a lawyer in the period immediately after the beginning of the deprivation of liberty is essential for the prevention of torture and ill-treatment. However, in the majority of the facili­ ties visited the Institution has continued to notice that the request for legal aid is made at the time when authorities will proceed to record the statements of the interested party, with the exception of the Superior Police Department of Western Andalusia (Seville), the Civil Guard barrack in the Algeciras Port (Cadiz), the Spanish National Police Force stations in the Carabanchel district (Madrid) and Medina del Campo (Valladolid), the Catalan autonomous police force station in Sabadell (Barcelona) and the Local Police of Fuengirola and Marbella, in Malaga. Access to a lawyer In the Report of Custody and Registration of detainees at the Malaga provincial police headquarters it was noticed that some of the custody records included notes saying that the detainee had held an “interview” with police officers, before giving evidence and having the assistance of a lawyer. This Institution considers that, in such cases, the custody record such expressly mention the purpose or goal of such interview which, under no circumstances may entail a recording of statements, as well as the duration thereof. In this sense as well, one of the detainees interviewed at the police station of the Spanish National Police Force station in the Actur-Rey Fernando district (Saragossa), declared: “The officers tried to interrogate me but I demanded that my lawyer be present, and he arrived that night”. This testimony matches the one made by a female legal counsel who was present at the time of the visit, about it “being current practice that the officers interrogate detainees before the recording of statements in the presence of their lawyer”. In this regard, the Directorate General of the Police has reported to be unaware of this bad practice, as well as there being no complaints in relation to these facts and that, should it detect them, such complaints would be appropriately amended. The custody records must immediately after being deprived of liberty is essential include a note on the purpose and goal of the interviews held with police officers, before giving evidence or having the assistance of a lawyer Custody record at the Spanish National Police Force station in Malaga, which shows that the detainee was interviewed twice before the recording of statements in the Photograph 2 presence of a lawyer THE OMBUDSMAN OF SPAIN 41