Australia: supervised telephone call In Australia, Part IC of the Crimes Act 1914 (Cth) provides a legal framework for a number of important safeguards, including a right of the detainee to inform a relative or friend of his or her whereabouts. This is typically achieved with the detainee making a telephone call in the presence of a police officer. Hungary: enabling family notification Police in Hungary overcame the practical challenge that many detainees do not remember the telephone number of their family by inviting the detainee to find it on their mobile phone. If the family member or third person does not answer their phone, or if there is no phone number, a police officer is sent to deliver notification in person. The fact of notification is recorded in a form which is signed by the detained person. Although the law in Hungary requires police officers to notify family only within 24 hours of arrest, the notification generally takes place shortly after detention. Kosovo: no reason for delay of notification in cases of juveniles Juveniles that are detained by the police require particular care. In Kosovo, the police are under a legal obligation to immediately notify a family member or, if a family member is not available, contact the national Centre for Social Work on the arrest of a child. Due to the special vulnerability of juveniles, the law provides that under no circumstances may notification be delayed for the purpose of an ongoing investigation. The law has been well implemented in practice: in 2016, a report by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture commended the fact that a family member or the Centre for Social Work is always informed promptly following the arrest of a juvenile. Audio and video recording of interrogation Recording of police interrogations acts to deter police from using violence, coercion, or other forms of ill-treatment in securing a confession. Recording also protects police against false accusations of abuse or intimidation, and operates as a robust piece of evidence of the interview and the information divulged. Accompanying its use, clear and proper management processes should provide for access, storage, and destruction of recordings and data. “ Video recording of interrogations helps protect the rights of suspects in the incidence of forced confessions since many government staffers are eager to quickly finish the case. The measure would help avoid unjust, false and wrong charges.” Professor Su Wei, Chongqing Municipal Committee, CPC, PR China, 2017. Where audio or video recording is used, good practices encourage that the recording starts at the beginning of the interview, that all persons present are identified, along with the time and location of the recording, and that the interview is properly recorded in its entirety, including any breaks being noted. If recording is discretionary or incomplete, a risk remains that police abuse will simply shift to moments and areas not covered by these technologies (“blind spots”), and that incriminating recordings are lost or deleted. Certainly, audio and video recording of interrogations implies some financial costs, although the wide availability of different forms of cheap technology with video or audio recording possibilities makes this safeguard much more accessible than in the past. States using such technologies have also indicated that any costs are recovered through the time saved by police and judiciary in administration and court processes that are no longer needed. TOOL: Safeguards in the first hours of police detention 6/11