POLICE STATIONS rights. According to the Police Custody Regulations, the times of the checks on detainees must be recorded. There are plans to revise the Police Custody Regulations this year. The suggestions made by the Joint Commission, in particular as regards standardising and examining the available information about legal rights across Baden-Württemberg, will be addressed. The Joint Commission welcomes the fact that detention rooms are inspected every one to two hours at Konstanz Police Station when they are occupied. At Singen and Friedrichshafen police stations checks are carried out at considerably longer and irregular intervals. For example, in one case in Singen the following was noted in the custody record book: Booked in at 8.40 pm, first recorded check at 4.05 am. This not only represents a risk for the detainee, but also exposes police officers to unnecessary liability. In line with No. 4.3 of the Baden-Württemberg Police Custody Regulations, fixed times for checks should also be introduced in Friedrichshafen and Singen, and these should be recorded in the custody record book. Regular checks of the custody record books should include checking whether these times are being observed and the records are being properly kept. The Joint Commission feels that it is problematic that all the police stations at times only have one police officer on duty. When checking detainees or in the event of an emergency, a patrol has to be called in so that two officers are on hand to enter the detention room. In an emergency the ensuing delay can put detainees in considerable danger. Response: The frequency and times of the checks are based on the circumstances of each individual case. The intervals should be no longer than two hours and should be guaranteed by allocating the officers on duty accordingly. In exceptional cases in which a delay, for example by having to call in a patrol car, would lead to the person in custody being at concrete risk, the police officers on duty must immediately initiate the necessary measures. The police stations will again be notified that they must observe the relevant guidelines. to the supervising police officer and to two police officers on duty. 2.4.1 – Positive observations The custody suite at Reutershagen Police Station was very clean and in perfect condition. According to the deputy supervising officer, the police station disburses the costs arising when the doctor examines detainees in advance, which ensures that health care provision is guaranteed at all times. In addition, the Joint Commission is pleased to note that Reutershagen Police Station does not use Fixierung. 2.4.2 – Recommendations of the Joint Commission and response of the Ministry of the Interior and Sports of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania The Joint Commission would like to point out the need to immediately inform detainees about their legal rights when they are taken into custody under police law. The right to notify relatives and to consult a doctor or legal counsel is of particular importance in 41 this context. The CPT is of the same opinion. The Joint Commission was informed that those taken into custody under police law are only informed about their rights orally by the police officer booking them in. There is no written information sheet and the fact that information is given orally is not recorded. It is therefore not possible to check whether a person has in fact been informed about their rights or not. It would be worth considering laying down the obligation to inform detainees of their rights and the written documentation thereof in the relevant statutory provisions. The Joint Commission also recommends using information sheets to inform detainees about their rights in brief, summary form, as is standard practice in other Länder. These forms should be available in all commonly spoken languages, in the same way as forms required in accordance with the Code of Criminal Procedure. Where the state a person is in precludes their being informed about their rights at the start of their period in custody, this could possibly be done at a later point in time. This fact should also be recorded in the custody record book. Response: Pursuant to section 56 (1) of the Act on Public Safety and Order of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, a detainee (in custody, compulsory detention or in prison) must be informed of the reason for the measure and admissible legal remedies. In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, detainees are informed of their rights orally. 2.4 – REUTERSHAGEN POLICE STATION The Joint Commission visited Reutershagen Police Station in Rostock on 8 August 2013. It has 10 single cells and a new central holding place, which will be taken into operation in 2015. A total of 892 people were taken into custody in 2012. No-one was being held in custody at the time of the visit. The Joint Commission inspected the custody suite in the police station, together with the doctor’s examination room and the sanitary facilities, and it was given access to the custody record book. It talked 41 76 Cf. CPT/Inf/E (2002) 1 - Rev. 2013, p. 10