–2–
or otherwise interfering with the course of justice.3 Moreover, the nature and gravity of the offence
the person is suspected of having committed should be duly taken into account when assessing the
proportionality of the measure.
In the CPT’s view, the principle that remand detention should only be imposed as a last resort
implies in the first place that, as far as possible, non-custodial measures should be applied. This
requires the availability of a broad range of measures, such as the conditional suspension of pre-trial
detention, bail, house arrest, electronic monitoring, the obligation to comply with certain orders,
judicial supervision, the removal of passports, etc. Such a range of alternatives should also be
considered for foreign nationals, and the fact that such a person is neither a national nor a resident
of the state, or that he/she does not have any other links with that state, should not, in itself, be
sufficient to conclude that there is a risk of flight.4
2.
Remand detention in prisons
54.
Reception and induction programmes have an important role to play for persons remanded
in custody who enter the prison system. If performed properly, they will enable prison staff to carry
out an individual risk and needs assessment, including the identification of those most at risk of
self-harm, and will relieve some of the anxiety experienced by all newly-arrived prisoners. Further,
they will provide an opportunity to acquaint prisoners with the running of the prison, including the
regime and daily routine, as well as ensure that they have been able to contact their family. To this
end, prisoners should be provided with oral information and a comprehensive information booklet
which should exist in an appropriate range of languages. Particular attention should be paid to
ascertain that the information provided is understood by prisoners with reading and writing
difficulties and by foreign nationals who do not speak the language(s) spoken by staff.
Given the strong impact a first-time admission to a prison may have on the person concerned,
consideration might be given to extending the above-mentioned induction programme over several
days in order to provide newly-admitted prisoners with a greater opportunity to absorb the
information. If such an induction programme is not properly carried out, prisoners will rely on other
prisoners to tell them about the regime and the rules, which can easily place certain prisoners in a
superior position.
The CPT’s experience shows that in some countries, reception and induction programmes may last
for several weeks and the regime applied to prisoners undergoing them may be very restrictive,
sometimes amounting to solitary confinement. The CPT considers in this respect that newlyadmitted prisoners should be allocated to ordinary accommodation units as soon as possible after a
risk and needs assessment has taken place upon admission. Moreover, conditions for newly-arrived
prisoners should not amount to a solitary confinement-type regime for prolonged periods. Further,
in addition to induction-related activities, a minimum of one hour of outdoor exercise per day
should be provided from the outset of the induction period.5
3
See Articles 5(1)(c) and 5(3) of the European Convention on Human Rights and the relevant case-law of
the European Court of Human Rights, as well as the White Paper on Prison Overcrowding, the Council of Europe’s
Committee on Crime Problems (CDPC), PC-CP (2015) 6 rev 7, paragraph 62.
4
See Rule 13.2 of Recommendation CM/Rec(2012)12 of the Committee of Ministers to member states
concerning foreign prisoners.
5
See also paragraph 68 concerning juveniles.