police and the gendarmerie, upon arrival, and that the history of each detainee and any signs of ill-health or injuries be recorded. Further, the SPT recalls that the right to see a doctor upon request should be duly respected. The SPT also recommends that medical examinations be conducted in accordance with the principle of medical confidentiality; nonmedical persons, other than the patient, should not be present. The results, and any notes, of the medical examination are also to be kept confidential by the examining doctor, and are not to be disclosed to those holding the patient in garde à vue. In circumstances where the doctor recommends transfer to a clinic or hospital for treatment, only the minimum necessary information regarding the reason for transfer need be disclosed to the authorities. 93.Proper recording of injuries, in addition to proper medical examination of persons deprived of their liberty, is an important safeguard, contributing to the prevention of ill-treatment as well as to combating impunity. The examination of all persons detained and thorough recording of injuries may well deter those who might otherwise resort to ill-treatment. The SPT recommends that the doctor carrying out systematic screening of people deprived of liberty by the police and the gendarmerie record all essential information relevant to the medical examination, including (a) medical history, (b) an account by the person examined of any violence, (c) the result of the physical examination, including a description of any injuries and an indication as to whether the whole body was examined, and (d) the doctor ’ s conclusion as to consistency between the three first items. 94.Another issue which arose from interviews with the detainees and the staff at police and gendarmeries was the means available to take the detainee to a hospital. Most police stations and gendarmeries reportedly did not have access to a vehicle to take the detainees to the nearest hospital. In addition, while hospital treatment might be free, any prescriptions for medication necessitated payment by the detainee. In such cases, if the detainee could not pay the medication, access to a doctor and to medical care was problematic in practice. The SPT recommends that resources be provided for the transportation of detainees, including transportation to hospitals, and that resources be allocated for medication and treatment of detainees. 8.Complaints process 95.The delegation spoke with a number of persons deprived of liberty, about the possibility to complain about ill-treatment in custody. Many considered it pointless to seek to complain about physical ill-treatment or ill-treatment in the form of extremely poor conditions. 96.One of the basic safeguards against ill-treatment is the right of a detained person or his representative to make a request or complaint regarding his treatment, in particular in the event of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, to the authorities responsible for the administration of the place of detention and to higher authorities and, when necessary, to appropriate authorities vested with powers of review or redress. 97.The SPT has already discussed the various mechanisms in place for receiving complaints (see Section II.B above). In this respect the SPT emphasises that complaints against the police and the gendarmerie should be investigated and pursued by bodies independent of the police or gendarmerie. The mere existence of complaints mechanisms is not enough; they must be, and must be seen to be, independent and impartial, and should offer guarantees of effectiveness, promptness and expeditiousness. 98.Production of precise data concerning complaints of ill-treatment by the police or the gendarmerie and of what happens to such complaints is part of the duty of public accountability. However, the authorities who met with the delegation indicated that the only way to find out about such cases was to contact the Constitutional Court, as no body systematically gathered statistics on prosecutions of cases of alleged police or gendarmerie brutality. It was therefore not possible for any of the authorities to indicate or monitor the degree to which complaints about ill-treatment were pursued and resulted in findings of wrongdoing and in sanctions. The SPT recommends that statistics be compiled and maintained on an on-going basis concerning investigations, prosecutions or disciplinary action and be broken down so as to permit precise oversight of proceedings and outcomes in cases involving alleged ill-treatment by the police and the gendarmerie. The SPT requests that it be kept informed about any development in this regard. 9.Monitoring bodies as a safeguard against ill-treatment 99.The delegation observed that there was usually no systematic record in law enforcement facilities visited of any monitoring visits and when asked to indicate the date of the last visit by a prosecutor, staff were often at a loss to remember or recall an occasion long since past. 100.Staff at the Gendarmerie of Godomey reported that prosecutors came to check two or three times a year on how initial custody is handled, and gave oral or written feedback to the places visited. They also referred to monthly inspection by the military hierarchy and indicated that the President of a local NGO, the Ligue des Droits de l ’ Homme, had visited. 101.At Dodji police station, Porto Novo, staff initially indicated that prosecutors did monitor their work. However, it transpired that in the two years of service of the senior officer, there had only been one such visit. Staff there reported that there were no internal monitoring visits and that no NGOs visited. 102.At the Central police station in Cotonou staff reported that the last monitoring visit had been 10 months ago and was a joint inspection by the Ministries of Interior and Justice. The check included registers, duration of initial custody, conditions and hygiene. The station had not received a report on the inspection, but recommendations had been made on the spot. The last visit to the Central police station in Porto-Novo was in November 2007 by a delegation of the police. At the Gendarmerie in Séhoué, the registre de garde indicated that the gendarmerie had been visited by the military hierarchy on 8 May 2008, with the comment that