Torture in Police Custody and the Effectiveness of Preventive Measures: The Role of National Preventive Mechanisms (NPMs)

This article focuses on the role of National Preventive Mechanisms (NPMs), established under the Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention against Torture (OPCAT), in preventing torture and ill-treatment in police custody. It examines their powerful monitoring mandate, in particular their unfettered access to all places, persons, and information, and how these powers can be used to propose concrete changes to detention practices and laws. The article puts an emphasis on the most effective measures to prevent torture and ill-treatment in police custody and specifically the implementation of detention safeguards: access to a lawyer, access to a doctor, a right to notification and information about these safeguards. It takes into consideration recent developments in particular the Principles on Effective Interviewing for Investigations and Information Gathering, also known as the Méndez Principles. Finally, the article highlights good practices, some successes but also challenges that NPMs face in their daily work, based on lessons learned in almost two decades of implementation of the OPCAT.