D OC / OS (XXXIII) / 324c / II Women represent c. 4% of the total prison population. According to Constitution, they should be detained separately from men, as well as juveniles under 18. Overcrowding makes it often difficult to classify prisoners. However, in some prisons (Tororo prison farm), convicts were separated from remand prisoners. Ward leaders were appointed in all prisons visited by the delegation. Fellow-prisoners often complained about the violent behaviour of these leaders, who would beat them when prison rules were breached, or for other reasons. (see also Discipline section below). Staff Below the Commissioner General of Prisons and the Deputy, there are 13 levels of staff. Staff enter into the Service at three levels: warder/wardress, Cadet Principal, Cadet Assistant Superintendent. The initial training for officers is six to nine months, and 18 months for senior officers. Human Rights training or information are also delivered. There are some local initiatives to train staff in Human Rights (Masindi). There were 3 107 uniformed staff in April 2002 — approx. one to five ratio, where the UPS indicate that the ratio should be one to three, i.e. approx. 5 300. In the prisons visited by the delegation, ratio varied from one to 27 (Nagguru remand home) to more than 4 staff for each prisoner (Tororo local government prison: 32 staff, seven prisoners) — average one to seven. The structure is para-military, and all staff are considered permanent civil servants. Their living conditions were extremely difficult: out of the nearly 3 000 housing units, less than 2 000 were originally built for human habitation. The rest are improvised temporary houses. In most cases guards work in three shifts, sometimes seven days a week. Most don't have a uniform. The pay levels are insufficient (530.000 USH (306 USD) for an officer in charge in Kampala, 154.000 USH (90 USD) for a warder). In various prisons, the Officer in charge put the blame on the staff for infringements to human rights, explaining he could not control everything, or he was not coming everyday (Masindi). However, in many other prisons, the Special Rapporteur noted that the management staff was particularly dedicated, which the prisoners acknowledged by saying they had better relations with higher grade staff. They also acknowledged that the working conditions of junior staff and their overstaying on duty accounted for their negative attitude. Staff in local government prisons and police staff do not receive any training to deal with prisoners and are not prepared for that job. Police custody The official maximum duration of police custody is 48 hours (Constitution — art. 23 (4) (b). However, many people were found by the delegation who had been under police custody for weeks or even months. Conditions in police stations were generally poor, with overcrowding even more severe than in prisons, less hygiene, less access to care. Several prisoners were ill (women in Kampala Central Police station) or wounded. Some of these wounds were received during the arrest (one had a bullet in the leg), or resulted from beatings and illtreatments (Kampala). —See more details under the relevant sections below. The existence of safe houses was denounced by some prisoners, who said they had been detained in such places and described their detailed location (in Kampala). They alleged having been beaten with wires and iron bars. 12