Detention is a short-term restriction of freedom of a person suspected of committing a crime. Detention is possible only in cases where one of the possible punishments for the crime is imprisonment.
More details about police detention: the procedure, grounds and deadlines can be found in this section.
How long are they in the temporary detention center?
Let's turn to the Code of Criminal Procedure.
The period of detention should not exceed 48 hours from the moment of actual capture of the citizen. During this time, the investigator or inquiry officer finds out the person’s involvement in the crime committed and decides whether there is a need to choose a preventive measure and, in particular, to apply to the court for detention. Consequently, after 48 hours, a detained citizen can either be released or transferred to a pre-trial detention center. Many suspects are concerned about the question: for how long can detention be extended?
The answer is contained in paragraph 3, part 7, article 108 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, according to which the detention can be extended by the court for another 72 hours from the moment the court makes a decision on the extension. Consequently, purely theoretically, the maximum period of detention on suspicion of committing a crime when extended by a court can be 120 hours or 5 days; in practice, taking into account the fact that the decision to extend the period of detention is not made by the court at the last minute of the 48th hour of detention, this period is somewhat shorter.
It should be borne in mind that detention as a short-term restriction of freedom is also used in cases of administrative offenses. Administrative detention is allowed for a period of up to 3 hours from the moment of delivery, and in some cases, for example, in cases entailing administrative arrest as punishment, administrative deportation from the Russian Federation, also in cases encroaching on the border regime, violation of customs rules - up to 48 hours.
How and by whom are suspects and accused distributed among cells?
Placement into cells is carried out on the basis of a plan for cell-by-cell placement of suspects, accused and convicted persons, approved by the head of the pre-trial detention center or the person replacing him. Suspects and defendants in the same criminal case are housed separately. The administration of the pre-trial detention center is taking measures to exclude contacts between them.
Suspects and accused persons are placed in cells by the assistant on duty or his deputy in agreement with the operational service worker, and minors, in addition, in agreement with the educational inspector and psychologist. The placement of patients is carried out according to the instructions of the medical worker. Persons who have signs of a mental disorder, including a tendency to aggression and self-aggression, are placed in cells taking into account the recommendations of a psychiatrist and psychologist. Persons with signs of infectious or parasitic diseases are placed in cells allocated for quarantine. The quarantine period is determined by medical indications.
Is it necessary to have a separate bed?
Yes, definitely.
Is it possible to have a TV in the cell? Should there be a refrigerator in the cell?
Pre-trial detention center cells are equipped with a TV and a refrigerator (if available; cells for women and minors are mandatory).
Medical service
Upon admission to the isolation ward, a medical examination of each person is carried out. Moreover, a suspect can enter a general cell only after receiving permission from doctors. The suspect is kept in a separate room until the medical examination. In addition, the institution has a medical unit. It has the following capabilities:
- for outpatient treatment;
- for conducting surveys and analyses;
- for inpatient care for sick people.
Sick patients are isolated from others so as not to harm the health of other people. Based on the suspect's complaint, examination and treatment are carried out. People suffering from dangerous diseases are kept in a separate cell.
At the request of a lawyer, the accused may be sent for examination to an inpatient clinic. In addition, the results of examinations by local doctors must be provided to the investigation or to relatives upon written request.
Diagnoses that do not allow keeping people in pre-trial detention centers
During the initial medical examination, signs of diseases that affect the person’s detention regime are identified. Some provide grounds for exemption from detention. However, such a diagnosis must be confirmed by a medical commission. For this purpose, a separate court decision is made to send the person for a medical examination to a hospital organization.
The following diagnosis may be the basis for release from stay in a pre-trial detention center:
- dangerous infection, including parasite infection;
- open forms of tuberculosis with complications;
- malignant tumors in a severe stage;
- endocrine system defects;
- severe forms: diabetes;
- lesions of the thyroid gland;
- atrophy;
- lesions of the digestive system requiring a special diet;
Hint: the decision to release a suspect from detention away from society can only be made by the court on the basis of a medical report.
Can I bring my own TV into the cell?
Accepting charitable donations for specific suspects, accused persons, as well as convicts held in penal institutions is prohibited. At the same time, relatives of a person held in a pre-trial detention center can make a charitable donation to the penal institution through participants in charitable activities, including a television. Donations are accepted on the basis of an agreement concluded in accordance with the requirements of the civil legislation of the Russian Federation. The distribution of received donations is carried out in accordance with the plan, which is approved by the head of the institution. At the same time, donations should not be distributed among employees of these institutions, nor transferred to third-party organizations and individuals.
Why are there no electrical outlets in the cells?
The cameras are equipped with plug sockets for connecting household appliances.
Is it possible to smoke in the cell? Is there a division into smoking and non-smoking cells?
Suspects and defendants who smoke are housed separately from non-smokers whenever possible.
Problems of detention in pre-trial detention centers and ways to solve them
June 28, 2021 12:22 pm
A report on the results of the discussion of conditions of detention will be presented to the President of the Russian Federation
The Federal Penitentiary Service (hereinafter referred to as the FSIN), together with the Council under the President of the Russian Federation for the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights (hereinafter referred to as the HRC), intend to send Vladimir Putin a report on the results of an analysis of compliance with sanitary space standards in premises intended for the detention of suspects and accused in committing crimes. Attached to the report are proposals for improving the conditions of detention of these persons. Commenting on these proposals, Vice-President of the FPA RF, member of the Human Rights Council Henry Reznik noted positive changes in the work of the Federal Penitentiary Service and named a number of objective circumstances for the reduction in the number of people in pre-trial detention centers.
The draft report to the President of the Russian Federation was discussed on June 24 at a joint meeting of the leadership of the FSIN and members of the HRC, where concerns were expressed regarding the existing problems of detention, and specific proposals were made to improve the conditions of stay in the pre-trial detention center.
According to the analysis, as of June 1, 2021, in the penal system of the Russian Federation, the number of pre-trial detention centers in which there was non-compliance with sanitary space standards in premises for suspects and accused of crimes has significantly decreased (from 69 to 19). The number of pre-trial detention centers that do not comply with the legislation of the Russian Federation in terms of conditions of detention has decreased from 95 to 59.
The average sanitary area per person in a pre-trial detention center is 5.1 square meters. m with a norm of 4 sq. m. However, in the regions the situation is very heterogeneous and ranges, for example, from 2.3 sq. m in the Republic of Crimea up to 3.8 sq. m - in the Moscow region.
There is also the problem of the technical condition of pre-trial detention centers, a third of the cells in which are in need of major repairs. About 14% of secure buildings have been in operation for more than 60 years, another 19% for more than 100 years, 12.4% of buildings are in unsatisfactory technical condition, and more than 40% of buildings do not have a forced supply and exhaust ventilation system. The construction of 14 pre-trial detention centers for 5,243 places and 33 secure buildings for 8,913 places made it possible to relieve the load on existing pre-trial detention centers in 25 constituent entities of the Russian Federation. Until 2026, it is planned to build 17 pre-trial detention centers and secure buildings with a total capacity of more than 11 thousand places; work is being carried out to overhaul the pre-trial detention center buildings, including the creation of the necessary conditions of detention in cell premises. Over the past three years alone, more than 3.5 thousand penal system facilities and 29 thousand meters of utility networks have been repaired, the report states.
At the beginning of 2021, the number of pre-trial detention centers in which people under investigation were kept in proper conditions was 73.4%. Work in this direction by the Russian Federal Penitentiary Service will continue.
Real improvement is really happening, says Henry Reznik, vice-president of the FPA RF, member of the Human Rights Council, including for objective reasons. “There is a decrease in crime, which is due to a decrease in the country’s population and, accordingly, a decrease in the number of men of “criminal age.” There are fewer young men due to falling birth rates. The reduction in crime is a global trend; young people have left the streets and entered the virtual space.
In addition, thanks to changes in legislation and the decriminalization of certain crimes, courts began to imprison fewer people. Alternative punishments have become more common. When they need to, the courts still choose detention as a preventive measure, but in reality this is not always necessary,” notes Henry Reznik.
At the same time, according to him, “one must be objective and praise the penal policy, which, in relation to detention, is making significant efforts to make it easier to breathe in the pre-trial detention center. So, reducing the number of pre-trial detention centers where sanitary space standards are not met is truly the merit of the Federal Penitentiary Service. Significant funds are allocated for this, especially taking into account the constant observations of the ECHR. Although we are, of course, still far from the Scandinavian countries, where punishment can be deferred if there are no appropriate conditions of detention.”
Henry Resnik noted that only in recent years have new pre-trial detention centers begun to be built. From 1922 to 1997, no pre-trial detention centers were built in the country at all; all efforts were devoted to building colonies. In 1997, the first new isolation ward appeared in Moscow as a result of the reconstruction of a sobering-up center for alcoholics.
* * *
According to the report, a problematic issue is the convoy of convicted persons and persons in custody along railway routes, along which more than 500 thousand people are transported annually by special units of the penal system.
The proportion of persons prosecuted for committing crimes of minor or moderate gravity in pre-trial detention centers increased by 4.3% (from 39.7% to 44%).
As of January 1, 2021, more than 7 thousand foreign citizens were kept in pre-trial detention centers, of which more than 1 thousand were for committing crimes of minor and medium gravity. This category of detainees makes up a significant proportion in pre-trial detention centers in large cities and administrative centers. For example, as of April 1, 2021, more than 4 thousand foreign citizens were kept in pre-trial detention centers of the constituent entities of the Central Federal District, of which more than 50% were in pre-trial detention centers in Moscow.
In total, 25.7 thousand foreign citizens (5.6% of the total number of persons serving sentences) are serving sentences in the form of imprisonment in the correctional institutions of the penal system of the Russian Federation, of which about 10% are for committing crimes of minor and medium gravity .
This is a serious burden on the budget, says Henry Reznik. The problem is complicated by the fact that foreigners who commit crimes in Russia and are taken into custody manage to start families in our country and are not subject to deportation. This problem is clear to everyone, and the FSIN together with the HRC have prepared proposals for possible amendments to the legislation of the Russian Federation, which, on the one hand, include the possibility of introducing a new type of criminal punishment - forced deportation from the Russian Federation, and on the other hand, exclude the use of a preventive measure in the form of detention in relation to suspects or accused of committing certain crimes of minor and medium gravity.
In addition, Henry Reznik pointed out the need to solve problems of transfer from one pre-trial detention center to another, taking into account the number of detainees. Transfer to another pre-trial detention center may improve conditions of detention, but makes it difficult to visit relatives if there are no temporary detention centers in nearby regions.
* * *
Commenting on the proposals of the Government of the Russian Federation to make changes to the legislation that would allow significant progress in resolving issues of creating appropriate conditions of detention and in correctional institutions, Henry Reznik pointed out that many of them need to be improved.
“The proposal not to use a preventive measure in the form of detention in cases of minor gravity could only be welcomed, but it needs careful study, since it does not solve the issue of what to do with repeat offenders. In general, there is no linear connection between the measure of restraint and the imposition of punishment. There may be grounds for detention, but subsequently the court will choose a punishment that is not related to imprisonment,” noted the vice-president of the FPA of the Russian Federation.
There are problems that are not related to detention. For example, someone placed under house arrest must be brought in for questions, wait, and taken back. This requires significant effort and resources on the part of the Federal Penitentiary Service.
“As a joke, I even suggested that this responsibility be entrusted to lawyers so that they could deliver their clients to the investigator and back,” Henry Resnik smiled.
The Vice-President of the FPA of the Russian Federation believes that in general it is necessary to minimize the use of such a preventive measure as detention, which should be used, as stated in the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation, “if it is impossible to use another preventive measure.” But for now, the courts, fearing negative consequences, send people to pre-trial detention centers even in cases where there are no serious reasons to believe that the suspect will escape or commit a new crime. Director of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia Gennady Kornienko spoke at the meeting about the fact that judges are “playing it safe.”
“I liked that, in general, all the difficulties were not hushed up and were discussed professionally. The proposed proposals take into account the practice of the ECHR and the standards of a modern democratic society, where human rights must be respected, regardless of any conditions,” concluded Henry Reznik.
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Lifting and rebounding in the isolator chamber.
In pre-trial detention centers, a daily routine is established, developed on the basis of an approximate daily routine, taking into account the occupancy of the pre-trial detention center, the time of year, local conditions and other specific circumstances. The daily routine includes the time of getting up, going to bed, eating, participating in investigative actions and court hearings, walking, etc. Time is provided for suspects and accused persons to get eight hours of uninterrupted sleep. Persons in custody are required to make up their sleeping place after getting up and not straighten it until bedtime. The approximate daily routine of suspects and accused is set out in Appendix No. 4 to the Rules of the Pre-trial Detention Center.
Cameras
Citizens who have not yet been recognized as criminals are kept in pre-trial detention centers. Acceptable living conditions are created for them in the cells. In particular, the Rules indicate such content factors as security (by the number of contents):
- sleeping place (bunk beds, single-tier beds for pregnant women and mothers with babies);
- tables and benches;
- food cabinets;
- devices and items for hygiene procedures and washing;
- mirror;
- container with drinking water;
- water heater or hot water;
- socket for connecting devices;
- radio point and receiver of a national channel;
- lighting;
- ringing alarm.
Attention: the document states that cells are allowed to be equipped with a TV, fan, refrigerator, if available.
Conditions for pregnant women and mothers are somewhat more comfortable. A crib and bath are provided for children. In addition, the room is equipped with additional furniture.
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Internal regulations of pre-trial detention centers of the penal system
Where do detainees wash and is there a bathhouse? What is the frequency of changing linen?
At least once a week, suspects and accused persons undergo sanitary treatment and are given the opportunity to wash in the shower for at least 15 minutes. For women and minors, the opportunity to take a shower is provided at least twice a week for at least 15 minutes. Bed linen is changed weekly after showering. If the suspect or accused participated in a court hearing, investigative actions, or for some other reason was unable to undergo sanitary treatment at the established time, he is given the opportunity to wash in the shower on the day of arrival or the next day.
Lighting and ventilation in cells.
Pre-trial detention center cells are equipped with day and night lighting, as well as, if possible, ventilation equipment.
Can I use my own underwear?
You can have plain bedding in white or beige in one set (two sheets and a pillowcase).
What should I do if the chamber is too hot or too cold?
In single, double, quadruple cells, punishment cells and locks for receiving suspects, accused and convicted persons, the design air temperature is set at +20°C. In cells for holding women and children - +22°C. If the established calculated temperature is violated, a suspect, accused or convicted person held in a cell may file a complaint with the administration of the pre-trial detention center. If there is no response, he can send his statements, petitions and complaints through the administration to the court or prosecutor's office.
Walk
In order to maintain the health of people kept indoors, they are organized for walks in the fresh air. For this purpose, courtyards are organized on the territory of the institution. They will be equipped with:
- benches;
- canopies from precipitation;
- sandboxes and greenery (for women in a privileged position);
- places for active sports (for minors).
The duration of exposure to air varies for certain groups. In this case, only the “residents” of one cell are taken out into the courtyard at a time. In order to prevent unauthorized communication, a staggered walking schedule is created. The duration of the latter is:
- one hour in general mode;
- two - for minors;
- unlimited - for pregnant women and mothers with babies.
Hint: if the accused missed time for a walk due to participation in investigative activities, then he should write a statement to his superiors. Additional time will be provided at other times.
What is prohibited from being stored in the camera?
Items, substances and food products prohibited for storage and use by suspects and accused persons that pose a danger to life and health or that can be used as an instrument of crime or to impede the purposes of detention, as well as those not included in the List. List of permitted items and products in the cell. What is prohibited from being stored in a pre-trial detention center cell?
Can I make audio and video calls?
Can. Details
What is the procedure for performing religious rituals?
Suspects and accused persons perform religious rites in their cells, and, if possible, in pre-trial detention centers specially equipped for these purposes in accordance with the traditions of the religions they profess. The performance of religious ceremonies that violate the requirements of the Rules of the pre-trial detention center and the rights of other suspects and accused is not allowed.
Suspects and accused are allowed to carry and use religious literature, objects of religious worship for personal use for body or pocket wear, except for piercing objects, items made of precious metals, stones, or those of cultural and historical value. To provide spiritual assistance to suspects and accused persons, at their request and with the permission of the person or body in charge of the criminal case, it is allowed to invite clergy of religious associations registered in the Russian Federation to the pre-trial detention center. The services of religious ministers are paid from the funds of the suspects or accused in their personal accounts.
