Short-term Deprivation of liberty
Department of the Spanish National Police Force in Western Andalusia (Seville),
the Spanish National Police Force stations of the Latina and Carabanchel dis
tricts in Madrid, the Civil Guard barrack in Olite (Navarre) and the Navarre au
tonomous police force station in Estella (Navarre), it was noticed that when de
tainees get medical assistance, a copy of the medical record with the assistance
provided is included in the official police report. In the documentation examined
it was verified that in some cases such medical reports included the medical his
tory of detainees with personal data which affect their personal privacy. On the
contrary, at the Local Police station in Bilbao (Biscay) it was verified that the copy
of the medical report issued after the medical assistance provided due to com
mon illness is delivered to the interested person, and the police proceedings do
not keep a copy thereof.
In the opinion of the Ombudsman Institution, the joint understanding of Arti
cles 796.1.1 of the Spanish Code on Criminal Procedure, 22.2 of the Organic Law
on the Protection of Personal Data (abbreviated as LOPD in Spanish), and 12.3 of
Law 41/2002, of 14 November, on the Autonomy of the Patient and the Rights and
Obligations Pertaining to Clinical Information and Documentation, entails that
the State Security Forces are only authorized to obtain and process the medical
data of detainees upon compliance of certain conditions, which have been reiter
ated by the Spanish Data Protection Agency in its legal reports: it must be duly
accredited that the obtaining of such data is necessary for the prevention of a real
and serious danger to public safety or for the prosecution of criminal offenses
and, given that this is especially protected data, it should be absolutely necessary
for the purposes of a specific investigation; it must be a specific and precise re
quest, since the request for massive data is not compatible with all the foregoing;
that the request be made with substantiated reasons, showing their relation with
the described scenarios; and that, in compliance with Article 22.4 of the Organic
Law on the Protection of Personal Data, such data is eliminated “when it is no
longer necessary for the inquiries that motivated its storage”. This criterion has
been notified to the different Departments which are competent in this matter.
State Security Forces are
23. As regards the general protocols for procedures in cases of detainees with
contagious diseases or female detainees in their gestation period, which were re
ferred to in paragraph 49 of the 2011 Annual Report, at some of the visits under
taken it has been noticed that such protocols are non-existent, which is something
that must be remedied. On the contrary, it was verified that such protocol existed
during the visit carried out to the Spanish National Police Force station in Vigo
(Pontevedra). It also had a book with the transfer of detainees who needed medical
assistance, including the name of the detainee, the brigade that conducted the
transfer, the date and time of departure and return to the police facilities.
There must be general
24. Likewise, it has been detected that there is a lack of prophylactic tools, such
as gloves or masks, at some of the facilities visited. Therefore, it has been request
ed that this shortcoming be remedied.
Lack of prophylactic tools
THE OMBUDSMAN OF SPAIN
only authorized to obtain
and process medical data
of detainees when the need
therefor is duly accredited
protocols for procedures in
cases of detainees with
contagious diseases and in
gestation period
43
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