CAT/C/ESP/CO/6 Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials. The State party should also ensure the prompt, thorough and impartial investigation of all acts of brutality and excessive use of force by law enforcement personnel and prosecute those who appear to be responsible. Impunity and absence of effective and thorough investigations 19. The Committee is seriously concerned over reports that the Spanish authorities fail to carry out prompt, effective, impartial and thorough investigations into complaints of torture and ill treatment committed by the State party’s security forces, including allegations regarding acts committed during incommunicado detention and excessive use of force by the police. In addition, from information received the authorities make little effort to prosecute alleged offenders. The Committee fears that such practices will foster a culture of impunity among law enforcement officials (arts. 2, 11, 12, 13 and 16). The Committee is particularly concerned about: (a) The difficulty of identifying the officers responsible, although the Committee notes that the size of the identification numbers worn by the members of police action units has been increased following a recommendation by the Ombudsman. The lack of identification seems often to have hampered investigations, for example in the cases of Angela Jaramillo in 2011 and Consuelo Baudín in 2012, and the bringing of alleged perpetrators of abuse and excessive use of force to trial; (b) Reports of difficulties in obtaining medical treatment in police custody and shortcomings in the quality and accuracy of forensic examinations; (c) The lack of effective guarantees to protect the complainant against any ill treatment or intimidation arising from the complaint; (d) The fact that, according to information received, accused persons seem to be given light sentences not commensurate with the seriousness of the offence, or are granted pardons such as those given in 2012 to three members of the Mossos d’ Esquadra who had been convicted of torture; (e) The scarcity of disaggregated and comprehensive data on complaints, investigations, prosecutions, trials and convictions in respect of torture, ill treatment and unlawful use of force by the police and on the penalties handed down in such cases, despite the introduction of the National Human Rights Plan program, which came into operation in 2010. The Committee urges the State party to combat impunity by having an independent mechanism carry out prompt, impartial and thorough investigations into all allegations of torture and ill treatment by law enforcement officials. In particular, it recommends that the State party: (a) Ensure that law enforcement officers can be properly identified at all times when performing duties for the maintenance of law and order; (b) Take all necessary measures to guarantee that all detainees are given thorough and impartial medical examinations and that forensic examinations are accurate and of a high standard, and that victims are able to obtain medical evidence to support their allegations; (c) Ensure that in practice persons who have reported cases of torture and ill treatment are protected from retaliation; (d) Ensure the prosecution and punishment of perpetrators with penalties that take into account the grave nature of the crimes, and that the legal order forbid 6 GE.15-08414