POLICE STATIONS technical adjustments to CCTV cameras which have already been installed is being examined. According to staff, it is the admitting officer who is responsible for instructing those taken into custody about their rights. Officers in the police station are not always able to check whether those taken into custody have been instructed about their rights in full. In particular, they are not in a position to give such instruction at a later point in time, since they lack the competence to do so. It is of key importance for the Joint Commission that people are fully informed of their rights before a measure depriving them of their liberty, irrespective of the legal basis therefor. Particular emphasis should here be given to the right to inform family members or trusted third parties, to call in a doctor and consult a legal adviser. Especially when someone is taken into custody it should be possible to ascertain whether they have been fully instructed of their rights. If need be, it must be possible to give such information at a later point in time. This should at any rate be done in writing. Response: Pursuant to existing formal requirements under applicable legislation (generally the Hesse Act on Public Safety and Order and the Code of Criminal Procedure), people who have been taken into custody or who have been arrested must immediately be informed of why the measure depriving them of their liberty is being enforced. In addition, they must be informed of other rights linked to the deprivation of liberty. According to statutory provisions set out in federal and Land legislation, each detained person is given the opportunity to inform a family member or a trusted third party. They are informed of this fact unless there is a risk of collusion. In Hesse, this information is provided ex officio if the detained person is incapable and the information does not conflict with their presumed will (section 10 (4), Hesse Police Custody Regulations). Special forms (which differ depending on the grounds for arrest) are available. If necessary, interpreters are also called in to inform those taken into custody of their rights. The Police Custody Regulations are currently being revised/updated. The recommended additions have already been made to the Admissions Report form available in the electronic processing system used by the police in Hesse (obligatory fields to document that the information has been given have been added). People are always required to fully undress when they are taken into custody. Searches which are done after a person has had to fully undress represent seri50 ous interference with the general right of privacy. It must, therefore, be weighed up in each individual case whether there are grounds to justify such interference. It must be considered that people who are taken into custody, like pre-trial detainees, may only be subjected to those restrictions which are absolutely unavoidable. This principle is also expressed in section 34 (3), second sentence, of the Hesse Act on Public Safety and Order, in accordance with which detained persons may only be subjected to those restrictions which serve the deprivation of liberty or order for detention. By judgment of 27 September 2010 Gießen Administrative Court, for instance, ruled that the physical search of a female industrial climber who had been 51 taken into custody was unlawful. The court held that in this specific case there had been no special circumstances which necessitated the detainee having to fully undress. Taking account of the above court decision, it must be made clear that requiring detainees to fully undress before a search can only be considered after weighing up the circumstances of the individual case. The requirement that each person must routinely fully undress when taken into custody is, in the Joint Commission’s view, not permissible. Response: All searches carried out in Frankfurt am Main Police Headquarters meet the applicable legal provisions. These legal provisions and other associated considerations were explained in detail to the Joint Commission during the visit. The Ministry explicitly points out that searches must also be carried out in such a manner as to guarantee the safety of staff in the police custody suite. According to statistics kept in Frankfurt am Main Police Headquarters, approx. 1.5% to 2% of searches on admission revealed objects which could have been used to commit selfharm or to harm others. According to staff, detainees are permitted to spend time outside once a day only after they have been in custody for 48 hours. However, in the opinion of the Joint Commission, detainees need to be given the opportunity to exercise outside in the fresh air for at least one hour after only 24 hours in custody. This 52 requirement is set out in the CPT standards. Response: People are very rarely detained in police custody for more than 24 hours. The recommendation will be followed in future by making use of a specially secured open space on the sixth floor of the custody area. It is not possible to regulate the light intensity in the custody cells, as a result of which people are either held in custody with the lights on full or in complete darkness. 51 Gießen Administrative Court, judgment of 27 September 2010, file no. 9 k 1708/09.GI 52 CPT Standards, CPT/Inf/E (2002) 1 - Rev. 2010, p. 17 50 cf., e.g., Federal Constitutional Court, order of 4 February 2009, file no. 2 BvR 455/08 55