CAT/C/BGR/CO/6 their counsels, at no cost to the defendant; and that they may be used as evidence in court; (g) Ensure the keeping of registers where cases of torture and ill-treatment can be recorded; (h) Provide the Committee in its next periodic report with up-to-date data on the number of complaints received alleging torture and ill-treatment by law enforcement and other public officials, with specific information on the steps taken to investigate cases of alleged torture and ill-treatment, on any prosecutions brought forward and on any resulting convictions and sentences, including disciplinary punishments, as well as on any redress provided to victims. Conditions of detention 13. While taking note of the steps taken by the State party to close most underground police detention facilities and to carry out renovations of and transfers between certain existing detention facilities, the Committee remains concerned that conditions of detention in prisons and in police detention facilities have not improved significantly during the period under review. The Committee is concerned about: (a) The lack of improvements of the material conditions in most places of detention, and in particular in Sofia, Burgas and Varna prisons, which have been described as unfit for habitation. The material conditions needing improvement include: dilapidated buildings and infrastructure; overcrowding; low custodial staffing levels; absence of hygiene and inadequate sanitary and sewage facilities; lack of access to toilets at night in some places of detention; insufficient access to hot water and showers; inadequate heating and water, cell furnishings, bedding, ventilation and access to natural and artificial light; electricity cuts; inadequate quantity and quality of food and drinking water; insufficient living space per prisoner, purposeful activities and exercise; and deficient health care; (b) The lack of trained custodial staff and reports of aggressive behaviour of prison staff towards the inmates, including excessive use of force and special means and beatings of prisoners in cells, that amounts to ill-treatment; and the absence of an effective complaints mechanism; (c) Reports that there is corruption in the prison system resulting in inmates having to pay the custodial staff for services provided by law and that 24-hour shifts for prison staff have not been abolished; (d) Deficient medical services, including superficial medical examinations, a lack of consistency and insufficient data in medical files, limited accessibility to specialized assistance, and scant recording of injuries and of the use of force and special means; (e) The frequent occurrence of inter-prisoner violence, in particular in Sofia, Burgas and Varna prisons, and the high incidence of death in custody (arts. 2, 10–14 and 16). 14. Recalling its previous recommendation (see CAT/C/BGR/CO/4-5, para. 21) the Committee recommends that the State party should: (a) Strengthen efforts and increase funds in order to bring the living conditions in detention facilities into line with international standards such as the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules) and the United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders (the Bangkok Rules); (b) Accelerate the implementation of and increase funds for the strategy for reforming places of detention; enhance the investment programme for the construction, reconstruction and modernization of the facilities of the penitentiary and probation system; and implement the projects for the construction of new prisons; (c) Conduct a fundamental review of its approach to deprivation of liberty; reduce prison overcrowding; respect the time frames for the repair, renovation and relocation of existing detention facilities and accelerate the construction of new places 5