statements and own-initiatives 4.1 Statements and Own-initiatives Statements issued Criminal sanctions sector In the criminal sanctions sector, statements were issued during the reporting year to the Legal Affairs Committee and the Constitutional Law Committee on the government proposal on the amendment of the Imprisonment Act, the Remand Imprisonment Act, and the Act on Enforcement of Community-Based Sanctions (HE 263/2016 vp), and on the government proposal on the Act on Enforcement of Combined Sentences of Imprisonment (HE 268/2016 vp). Own-initiative investigations Suicide committed by a prisoner During a visit to Vantaa Prison, it came to the attention of the NPM that a prisoner had taken his own life a few weeks earlier. The prisoner had arrived from Mikkeli Prison by train and was awaiting further transportation to the Psychiatric prison hospital in Turku. The Deputy-Ombudsman decided to subject the matter to a separate investigation. Prisoner subjected to a body search at a private health clinic As part of a complaint, it was brought to the Ombudsman’s attention that a prisoner had been subjected to a body search at a private health clinic. The Ombudsman launched a general own-initiative investigation to establish whether a body search constitutes an exercise of public authority that must be carried out by a physician in a public-service employment relationship, or whether it may be carried out by a private practitioner. Outsourced medical services in health care services for prisoners During an inspection visit to the resource planning unit of Health Care Services for Prisoners (VTH), it came to the attention of the NPM that approximately half of the physicians’ services in outpatient care for prisoners were provided by outsourced services. The Ombudsman found it problematic that, in health care services for prisoners, there was such heavy and consistent demand for the medical services of private agencies. As a result, the Ombudsman launched an own-initiative investigation on the use of outsourced medical services in health care services for prisoners. 93