2. 5. 1. Extended Night Visits to Police stations and Prison visits The Inquiries & Investigation Division of HRCSL, as well as the regional offices, carry out unannounced visits to police stations, prisons and other government authorized places where persons are deprived of liberty. The police stations are located on a number of categorized routes around the island (a route consist of 8 - 12 police stations.) A total of 159 police stations are covered by the officers, in addition to visits to other detention places such as prisons, CID, TID etc. The objective of Police Station visits is to eliminate incidents of torture in Sri Lanka through efficient proactive and reactive measures, to initiate steps to identify the responsible officers who commit these violations and recommend remedial action. Further, the aim is to also coordinate and act in collaboration with other relevant government and non-governmental institutions in order to combat incidents of torture. HRCSL makes special visits to the Terrorist Investigation Division (TID) and to Criminal Investigation Division (CID) which are within the purview of the Department of Police. Common issues identified during Police Visits include the following:  Failure to follow due process during arrest, including taking persons into custody on suspicion, but being unable to explain the offence/crime of which the detainees are suspected of  Ill-treatment and torture in custody  Delay in producing before courts  Overcrowding of cells  Lack of proper basic facilities, such as sanitary facilities, for detainees The Commission also undertakes visits to prisons. During these visits the Commission observed overcrowding and lack of adequate access to health facilities. Some issues were addressed on the spot following consultations with the authorities. 20