For the purposes of this tool, “detention”
refers only to the first hours of custody
immediately after a person is arrested. It
is not intended to apply to longer periods
of pre-trial detention. The safeguards
examined here are designed to protect a
detainee during this period of heightened
risk, while recognising that many of these
safeguards will also serve to protect
detainees in later states of detention as well.
“
Safeguards can have important benefits for States.
They prevent police abuse, of course, but they
also professionalise the police and the judiciary;
they inspire confidence in police and criminal
investigation; and they reduce the number of failed
prosecutions, wasted court time, and compensation
that may need to be paid for unjust treatment. As a
result, the operation of safeguards can improve the
whole administration of justice.”
H.E. Mr. Mohamed Auajjar,
Minister of Justice, Kingdom of Morocco, 2017.
Does Torture Prevention Work?
The latest independent academic research, Does torture prevention work? (Carver and Handley, 2016), found that
safeguards in the first hours of detention contribute crucially to the reduction in the risk of torture and other illtreatment in police custody.
Primary research for the work examined the experiences of 16 countries around
the world over a 30 year period. More than 60 torture prevention measures
were examined to record whether, and to what extent, each had been effective in
torture reduction. The results of the research confirm that safeguards applied in
the first hours of police detention, when applied in practice, are the most effective
means to prevent torture.
According to the authors, “The most important preventive mechanisms are
those that ensure that individuals are held only in lawful, documented places
of detention; that their families or friends are promptly notified of their arrest;
that they have prompt access to a lawyer, as well as to medical examination by an
independent doctor; and that they are brought promptly before a judge.”
SAFEGUARDS
States have adopted a wide number of safeguards to protect the rights of persons when they come in contact
with law enforcement authorities. Such safeguards also have the positive effect of streamlining processes and
accountabilities, improving efficiencies, and supporting the overall administration of justice.
Some key safeguards are reflected in this tool:
Notification
of rights
Prompt
access to
a lawyer
Independent
medical
examination
TOOL: Safeguards in the first hours of police detention
Communicate
with a family
member or
third party
Audio
and video
recording of
interrogation
Model
practice for
investigative
interviewing
Judicial
Oversight
Detention
records
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