Inside Police Custody 2 3.2.5 Spain The law provides that all arrested persons must be immediately provided with written information about their procedural rights, in simple and accessible language, and in a language that they understand. The rights specified are in accordance with those required by the Directive. The law also provides that an arrested person is entitled to keep the letter of rights during their detention. There is no standard letter of rights used by all police forces; each force devises its own letter of rights, in accordance with guidelines provided by the National Judicial Police Co-ordination Commission. The letter of rights used by the police in the region in which the research was conducted consists of a reproduction of the relevant articles of the criminal procedure code. As a result, it is expressed in technical language, and is difficult for suspects to understand. The police informed researchers that oral information on rights is given at time of arrest, and this was confirmed in interviews of arrested persons. Observations showed that within one hour of arrival at the police station, suspects are routinely given written notification of their rights, and are asked about whether they want to exercise them. The information on rights was normally provided by an officer reading the text of the letter of rights. In some cases the officer provided an explanation of the rights set out in the notice, but in a minority of cases, the information was not fully provided. The suspect was then given a copy of the notice to read and sign; the document was then scanned (so it could not be altered), and placed in a locker with the suspect’s possessions. Whilst the relevant law states that the suspect is entitled to keep the letter of rights in their possession, regulations qualify this by stating that this should be ‘in a manner that is compatible with the physical safety of the person’ whilst they are detained at the police station. Observations showed that in practice, detained suspects were never allowed to do so; ostensibly on the grounds of safety. 3.2.6 Austria The law provides that a person must be informed of their procedural rights upon or immediately after arrest, and no later than the first interview of the suspect. It is expressly provided that an interview cannot take place unless information on rights has been given, and that the product of an interview can only be used in evidence if the information requirements have been complied with. There is a standard ‘infosheet’ (letter of rights), which is available in German and 47 other languages, and the law requires that this be provided to suspects who are detained. The letter of rights is generally compliant with Directive in terms of the rights covered, except that it does not contain information about the right of access to case materials. In addition, the information about the right to legal aid is somewhat confusing, a fact confirmed in interviews with both police officers and suspects. The law requires that information about rights must be provided in a comprehensible manner, taking into account the needs of the suspect. However, police officials, lawyers and experts, and some suspects interviewed, agreed that the language used is not designed to be easily understood. A linguistic expert employed for the purposes of the research concluded that a significant proportion of suspects would be unable to understand it. There is no provision for special arrangements to be made for conveying information to vulnerable suspects. Further, there is no explicit provision that the suspect be allowed to keep the letter of rights. In practice, suspects are provided with the letter of rights at the time that the detention protocol is being completed. The suspect is asked to sign to confirm that they have received it. The computer programme 34