Annual Report 2010 by the National Preventive Mechanism against Torture
• Vehicles
for transporting of persons in custody.
• Holding
facilities for stowaways.
• Spanish-flagged
vessels and aircraft on which measures to constrain the liberty
of any person have been implemented.
In line with each specific
28. With this broad objective in mind, it must be maintained as an initial premise
case, inspection visits
that persons deprived of their liberty still have a wide range of rights that should
analyse the location and
physical conditions of
establishments, the legal
not be undermined except in those points intrinsically associated with the specific
situation analysed. In this context, inspection visits are made with a number
status of each form of
of specific objectives, including the examination of the location and structure of
deprivation of liberty,
the establishments in question, the living conditions of the persons deprived of
living conditions and
their liberty, the legal status of each form of deprivation of liberty with special
access to medical,
psychological and
social care
attention to the practical effectiveness of the assurances in place and access to
medical, psychological and, if necessary, social care. Thus, when the scope of
each visit is established the main issues to be examined are specified according to
the type of place inspected, taking into account potential risk situations and areas
and their specific characteristics. To ensure maximum effectiveness of these
inspections, they may be limited in scope in some cases or focused on particular
issues which are considered to have priority.
Common inspection
29. Fulfilment of these objectives is checked via a list of points of interest,
parameters
structured as shown below. This is a minimum checklist common to all types of
places of deprivation of liberty: it is, of course, adapted and individualised for
each visit in line with numerous quantitative and qualitative parameters:
– Location: location &
access
A) Location
• Location of the centre visited and analysis of the surrounding area.
• Public transport and frequency of services.
• Checking that there is sufficient parking for staff and visitors.
– Habitability: upkeep,
compliance with ratios,
access to goods & services,
measures to facilitate the
right to worship
B) Habitability
• Analysis of general conditions and assessment of the potential need for
refurbishment.
• Detailed inspection (size, cleanliness, upkeep, lighting, ventilation, etc.) of
establishments, with the rooms intended for persons deprived of their liberty,
isolation units, sanitary facilities, recreation areas, visiting rooms and other
communication rooms, dining rooms, kitchens, sports facilities and yards,
places of worship, libraries and staff areas.
• Assessment of theoretical capacity, staffing levels and compliance of staff/
inmate ratios, and examination of trends in these figures.
• Detailed checks on the availability of goods and services such as food (with
particular attention to the availability of special diets and on quality assurance
22
THE OMBUDSMAN OF SPAIN
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