Working conditions and training of police staff 160.The Subcommittee was consistently told by the police officers interviewed that they faced financial difficulties because of their low salaries. In addition, at the Manchén district station the Subcommittee visited the officers’ dormitories and noted the poor conditions in which they lived when on duty. 161.The Subcommittee considers that the financial hardship of police officers is conducive to corruption and therefore recommends that a review of police pay should be carried out to ensure that it is adequate. The equipment required for police officers to do their job should be provided by the authorities. 162.The Subcommittee was told that police officers received very little training, limited to a period of between three and six months after leaving primary school. It noted that a number of officers indicated that they would like to receive proper training. One officer said that “emotions are treacherous and make you ineffective; we need to be taught how to control them”. 163.The Subcommittee recommends that police and other officials assigned to police stations and other police detention centres should receive proper training in the arrest and custody of persons deprived of their liberty, in human rights, including the prevention of torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, and in the proper use of registers. System for supervising the police as a safeguard against torture and ill-treatment 164.The Subcommittee found that Honduras does not have an effective system of supervision and internal oversight of conditions of detention and the manner in which persons deprived of their liberty are treated by police officers. The Subcommittee considers that such a system constitutes an essential safeguard against ill-treatment, and therefore recommends that the Honduran authorities should establish one. Physical conditions 165.The Subcommittee noted that, in virtually all cases without exception, the physical conditions in which persons deprived of their liberty are held on police premises leave a great deal to be desired. The state of the cells in terms of maintenance and hygiene is usually deplorable. In many cases there are not enough sanitary facilities or they are out of order, and give off a strong stench, and there is no running water. There are no mattresses, blankets or furniture of any kind and detainees invariably sleep on the floor. 166.In the DNIC detention area in Tegucigalpa, detainees are held uninterruptedly, sometimes for months at a time, in unventilated cells without natural or artificial lighting, and only leave these cells to go to the bathroom. They never go into the yard and there is no provision for recreational activity. When the Subcommittee visited, 10 detainees were being held in 2 cells of approximately 20 m2 each (4 in one cell and 6 in the other). A third cell of approximately the same dimensions held three police officers accused of offences, who had been detained in the cell for five, three and two months, respectively. This cell had artificial lighting but no natural light. Two of the detainees were suffering from skin conditions caused by the lack of sunlight. 167.The conditions described above are frequently compounded by overcrowding. For example, when the Subcommittee visited Metropolitan Division No. 3, it found that 18 persons had been taken into custody during the previous 24 hours and had all been placed in the one cell intended for adult men, which measured approximately 18 m2. The police themselves reported that the number detained at weekends ranged from 70 to 120 per day and that those who did not fit into the cell remained in the courtyard. In the El Manchén police station, the Subcommittee noted that up to 40 or 50 detainees could be held at one time in cells measuring 22 m2. The cells were extremely dark and without ventilation, as there was only one very small window, and the stench was overpowering. 168.The Subcommittee was informed in the places visited that men, women and children are normally segregated. However, the Subcommittee noted some cases in which minors of between 15 and 17 years of age were held together with adults. In other cases, women and children were held together in the same cell and, in some police stations, the staff indicated that when children were held in custody, they had to be put in offices as there were no cells available. 169.In the Manchén district station, the Subcommittee saw a refurbished office in a perfect state of repair with new furniture and fittings. A notice on the door read “violence observatory”. However, the room was not in use and none of the police officers interviewed were able to tell the Subcommittee what it was for. 170. The Subcommittee recommends that an audit of police stations and DNIC premises should be undertaken as soon as possible in order to formulate and implement, as a matter of urgency, a plan aimed at improving places of detention in existing establishments and thereby guaranteeing the right to decent treatment in terms of accommodation – ventilation, sanitary facilities, lighting and other basic amenities. The audit should be conducted by a multidisciplinary team composed of representatives of the various institutions competent to inspect places of police custody. Physical conditions in cells should be improved immediately, especially with regard to minimum floor space per detainee, volume of air, lighting and ventilation. 171. The Subcommittee recommends that, where possible, persons detained in police stations for more than 24 hours should be able to take at least one hour of exercise outside their cells at least once a day. 172.In its response to the Subcommittee’s preliminary observations, the Office of the Attorney-General referred to a lack of planning in the construction, fitting, organization and administration of detention centres and prisons. There is no budget provision and no external funds are received, since international funding agencies do not, as a matter of policy, award aid, loans or grants for prison construction and operation. There is also no real training for guards or other persons with responsibility for the supervision and management of detainees.