EUROPEAN COMMITTEE FOR THE PREVENTION OF TORTURE
AND INHUMAN OR DEGRADING TREATMENT OR PUNISHMENT (CPT)
COMITE EUROPEEN POUR LA PREVENTION DE LA TORTURE
ET DES PEINES OU TRAITEMENTS INHUMAINS OU DEGRADANTS (CPT)
____________________________________________________
Strasbourg, 22 May 2015
CPT/Inf (2015) 23
Checklist
for visits to social care institutions
where persons may be deprived of their liberty
by Jari Pirjola and Vytautas Raškauskas
This list is not exhaustive, but rather a tool to be used during CPT visits, and will be reviewed on a regular basis.
A.
General information
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B.
Ill-treatment
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C.
Which body is responsible for the institution (national, regional or local authority; church, charity
association, private structure)?
Official capacity? Based on how many square-metres per person? Number of residents at the time of
the visit (male, female, age groups)?
Categories of residents?
Does the law provide for an involuntary placement procedure? Who decides on the placement of
persons who do not consent (court, social welfare authority, mayor)?
Number of residents who are formally deprived of their liberty?
How many residents are deprived of their legal capacity/under guardianship?
Is there a unit where residents are subjected to special protective measures (“closed regime”)?
What action is taken when residents leave the institution without permission? Is the police called to
search for them and bring them back to the institution?
Staffing: breakdown of posts by category with an indication of full- and part-time employment and
vacancies (including general practitioners/psychiatrists/psychologists/nurses/nursing
assistants/caretakers)? Working hours of staff? Number of staff present on different shifts, including
at night and during weekends? Training and supervision of staff?
External support: Co-operation with external consultants/hospitals? Private security companies?
Interventions by police after security incidents?
Major incidents in recent years?
Deaths in recent years (number and causes)?
Ill-treatment by staff (physical and/or verbal)?
Inter-resident violence? Do members of staff react and intervene promptly in case of incidents? Are
measures taken to protect particularly vulnerable residents?
Living conditions
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Allocation of different groups of residents: Placement policies? Are persons with mental disorders
and those with a learning disability accommodated separately? Are minors and adult residents
accommodated separately?
Possibilities for spouses to be accommodated together?
Material conditions in bed rooms/dormitories and communal rooms, sanitary facilities, etc.? Living
space per person? Does every resident have his/her own bed? Access to natural light and artificial
lighting? Ventilation? Heating?
Physical structure of buildings adapted to the special needs of the residents?