Police detention centres
The focus of the visits by the commissions was also the provision of sports and
occupational activities in the locked cells.
Few opportunities for
detainees to occupy
themselves
During the monitoring visit to Wels police detention centre, there were doubts
as to whether the detainees in single cells have other opportunities to occupy
themselves in their cells apart from reading books. The Federal Ministry of the
Interior stated that radio reception with installed receiver terminals is possible
in all of the cells and that magazines are available to all detainees. The NPM
criticised the lack of opportunity for the detainees to use sports equipment
such as small sports mats in the cells, which was not contested by the Ministry.
The commission received contradictory information on the visit to Innsbruck
police detention centre in June 2020 regarding the opportunities of the
detainees to receive visits or get exercise outside every day during arrivals
quarantine. The Federal Ministry of the Interior contested any restrictions
of these opportunities and stated that the occupational opportunities in the
police detention centre in the new location of Innsbruck correctional institution
(since the beginning of September 2020) had improved.
On the monitoring visit to Salzburg police detention centre in July 2020, the
commission learned that the gym there had been closed since the beginning
of the COVID-19 pandemic. The reason for the closure was unclarity regarding
how the room should be disinfected. The Federal Ministry of the Interior did
not contest the closure and stated that all of the detainees can now use the
gym again.
During this visit, the commission noticed the poor acoustic situation in the
visiting room that resulted from the structural conditions and the plexiglass
shields used as partitions. The Federal Ministry of the Interior communicated
that Salzburg Police Department is examining whether the installation of an
intercom in the visiting room could be brought forward.
On the monitoring visit to Vordernberg detention centre, it became evident
that Styria Police Department did not replace a sufficient number of defective
TV sets and justified this with the argument that the detainees in the shared
accommodations should occupy themselves together more. In the opinion
of the NPM this justification requires more clarification due to the different
nationalities of the inmates in the shared accommodations and potential
conflict between them.
In September 2020, the commission learned on a monitoring visit to Linz police
detention centre, which is operated in a container building, that there was
no daily yard exercise for at least one hour due to the emergency operation.
According to the staff, the detainees only had the opportunity to go outside the
building for short smoking breaks.
Not all of the detainees and law enforcement officers interviewed on the
monitoring visit to Innsbruck police detention centre in October 2020 were
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