What can police officers do upon your detention?
Upon your detention, the police officers may carry out the following activities:
- clarify your identity,
- take your fingerprints,
- photograph you (for procedural documents),
- call medical aid if necessary,
- inspect your belongings in order to find out if you are carrying any items that could compromise the safety of persons or property, items that could assist in an escape, drugs or items which, due to their quantity or nature, could threaten the internal rules of the facility or damage health,
- ask questions, or if necessary, carry out an expert assessment of your documents, belongings and/or you, to clarify your identity and the country of your citizenship,
- withhold your documents and/or belongings,
- carry out a body search (this must be done by a person of the same sex as you),
- a record on the performance of a search and a list of retained objects and substances shall be prepared, whereas one copy of the list shall be submitted to you.
Treatment
The police officers must treat you with respect when carrying out these activities. For example, they must not physically or verbally harm you to make you provide information, and they must call a doctor if you are injured etc. It may be that the police may need to use physical force to restrain you if you are resisting arrest. But, they must not use more force than necessary to make you comply and it must cease when you have surrendered and calmed down.
What human rights violation may there be?
Inhumane or degrading treatment
Mistreatment during detention may result in a human rights violation such as inhumane or degrading treatment. When detained, you may feel particularly vulnerable because you are under the control of the authorities and cannot leave. If you are physically mistreated in such a situation, it may result in not only physical pain and suffering, but may also have tremendous psychological effects.
However, not every situation will result in a human rights violation. The effect such treatment leaves on your physical and mental condition has to reach a certain level of severity to violate your rights. When assessing whether you have been treated in an inhumane or degrading way, such things as the duration of the mistreatment, the physical and psychological effects, your age, gender and condition of your health s would be taken into account. For mistreatment to be considered torture, the actions have to be particularly serious and cruel and cause very severe suffering. Read more about how to evaluate whether your rights have been violated.
Right to life
If the border guards or police use excessive or unnecessary force, which results in the loss of life of the detainee, it may result in a violation of the right to life. Read more about how to evaluate whether your rights have been violated.