In the Haukiputaa police prison, a person with lower limb paralysis has been treated in a way that violates human dignity. According to the Oulu Police Department, a few people in wheelchairs are brought into that pipe every year.
Oulu The police department's Haukiputaa police prison does not have facilities designed for wheelchair users.
This is because the cells of the temporary police prison were assembled in 2017 from shipping containers.
Helsingin Sanomat reports on Thursday about the case in which, according to the parliamentary ombudsman, a person with lower limb paralysis was treated in an insulting manner in Haukiputaa police prison.
According to the ombudsman, the disabled person in the police prison had, among other things, had to defecate on different sides of the pipe while lying on his side and eat on the floor.
He was in the pipeline under the police law for less than a day.
The ombudsman's remark is taken seriously, says the police lawyer, head of the Oulu Police Department's legal unit Antti Räsänen. He emphasizes that the police officers are not suspected of intentional ill treatment.
“It's more about lack of understanding. We haven't been able to react in the best possible way to what kind of treatment a wheelchair user would need,” says Räsänen.
“Here, the decisions have not gone in the best possible way in terms of transportation and detention.”
I'm going to pike two thousand detainees are brought to the police prison every year. There are a few of them who use wheelchairs.
“When it comes to people with reduced mobility, the police primarily aim for an alternative other than the tube. They will be taken home if it is safe or to the hospital if they need treatment. The pipe is the last option.”
The tube is used, for example, in a situation where the arrested person is very intoxicated.
If a person in a wheelchair needs to be taken to the tube, the Oulu police prefers Raahe tube instead of Haukiputa.
I'm going to pike we moved to temporary premises because the police house in Raksila was closed.
The ombudsman has pointed out Haukiputaa's facilities once before already in 2019. At that time, an unannounced inspection revealed, among other things, problems with access and privacy protection. According to Räsänen, these issues have since been corrected.
The case that the ombudsman pointed out happened after 2019.
Now the ombudsman pointed out the shortcomings of the facilities and structures of the police prison in terms of people with reduced mobility. For example, the facilities have lacked a disabled toilet.
“Previous inspections have not exactly paid attention to matters concerning people with reduced mobility.”
According to Räsänen, Haukiputaa will make all the adjustments required by the ombudsman.
According to Räsänen, some of the changes have already been made. Among other things, a shared wheelchair has already been brought to Haukiputaa. The possibility of building a disabled toilet is being investigated and it is possible to get a movable table top in the pipes so that you no longer have to eat on the floor.
In addition, the police department prepares instructions for its employees on how people with physical disabilities should be treated in the police prison.
Oulu's new main police station with new pipes is scheduled to be completed in 2025.
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