CPT delegations have periodically inspected vehicles intended for the transport of detainees, mainly by road and rail. They often found that conditions were substandard or that basic safety requirements were not being met. The Committee also detected practices which merited criticism (e.g. overreliance on means of restraint; unnecessarily long periods of confinement in prisoner transport vehicles etc).
Whatever the grounds for transferring persons deprived of their liberty from a place of detention to another place (e.g. from a police station to a prison) the CPT considers that transportation should always be carried out in a humane, secure and safe manner.
This new factsheet, prepared by the CPT Secretariat, presents the Committee’s main standards on this subject, which have been developed over several decades. It covers material conditions, safety and security measures and health issues.
