145.The SPT recommends that the information sheet listing the rights of the persons obliged to stay with the police be finalized as soon as possible and distributed to all police stations. Information on rights should be given orally for persons who do not know how to read and through interpretation for persons who do not have sufficient knowledge of any of the languages in which the written version is produced. The SPT would like to receive a copy of this sheet and, in due course, confirmation that such a sheet is available in all police stations and in use. 146.The SPT recommends that the Swedish authorities take the necessary steps to ensure that this new provision is effectively applied in practice. The notification should take place as soon as possible after apprehension, and the persons apprehended by the police should be systematically informed about this right. The SPT emphasizes that the possibility to delay the notification should be applied in a restrictive manner; such a delay should always be proportionate and not longer than strictly necessary. 147.The SPT welcomes this new provision [the new section 17 a) of the Police Act] and recommends that the Swedish authorities take the necessary steps to ensure it is effectively applied also in practice, and that all persons obliged to stay with the police are systematically informed about this right. 148.The SPT welcomes this new provision [amendments made to section 10 of chapter 23 of the Code of Judicial Procedure] as it now allows the presence of counsel from the very beginning of the deprivation of liberty and for all persons obliged to remain with the police. It also reflects the fact that the person giving statement to the police is not necessary a suspect but may later become one. The SPT recommends that the Swedish authorities take the necessary steps to ensure that this new provision is effectively applied in practice and that the persons obliged to stay with the police are systematically informed about this right. 149.The SPT recommends that the authorities ensure that all persons enjoy equal access to defence counsel not only in law but also in practice. Necessary steps should be taken to extend the right to public defence counsel to as early a stage of the deprivation of liberty as possible. 150.The SPT emphasizes that requests to see a doctors should not be screened by police officers and recommends the right to have access to a doctor be firmly established in a specific legal provision and that the persons obliged to stay with the police are systematically informed about this right at the outset of the custody. 151.The SPT recommends that the sobering up cells are not used for holding persons for longer than the time the persons may be held with the police under the Act on Police Interventions against Intoxicated Persons, i.e. normally for a maximum of eight hours. 152.The SPT recommends that the authorities ensure that there is a female warden present at the time female detainees are held in police custody. 153.The SPT recommends that outdoor exercise should be guaranteed to all detainees who have to stay in police custody for more than 24 hours. 154.The SPT recommends that the authorities take steps to ensure that access to interpretation is guaranteed in practice. C. Remand prisons 155.The SPT recommends that in accordance with the legislation in force, the detainees are systematically given information on their rights, the applicable rules and the regime in remand custody. The information should be given in a language the detainee can reasonably be supposed to understand. 156.The SPT recommends that the authorities examine the possibility of establishing a centralized system of registers to which all relevant stakeholders would have access. Particular attention should be paid to data protection issues, and access to the system be granted depending on the field of responsibility of each authority and duties of the staff members. 157.The SPT requests the authorities to clarify whether or not brief initial screening on medical issues is conducted routinely by nonmedical staff. 158.The SPT recommends that the authorities ensure that all detainees are medically screened upon arrival. If the initial screening is performed by a nurse, the detainees should be offered the opportunity to be seen by a doctor as soon as possible after arrival. 159.The SPT recommends that the detainees are questioned on health matters, including screening of suicidal risk, only by properly trained staff, and that medical confidentiality is scrupulously respected. Custodial staff should be trained to recognize symptoms of stress conducive to an elevated risk of suicide; if they estimate that a detainee would be at such a risk, they should bring this to the attention of the medical staff immediately. 160.The SPT recommends that: The authorities implement the plans to review the legislation regarding restrictions. The grounds for imposing each individual restriction should be clearly described in law. Public prosecutors are reminded that permission to impose restrictions should only be requested when this is strictly necessary in the interest of criminal investigations. When requesting the court to decide on restrictions, a prosecutor should be obliged to specify the individual restrictions requested and present grounds for each restriction. The District Courts should decide on the specific restrictions instead of only giving a general permission for imposing them.