On the new procedure for counting time spent in a pre-trial detention center against the sentence

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.

In pretrial detention before trial: how long do suspects and accused stay in prison?

A person is placed in a pre-trial detention center if the investigator's or inquiry officer's request for detention was granted by the court. Please note that this preventive measure is exceptional. It is applied when a person faces imprisonment for more than 3 years, and only in the absence of conditions for choosing another, more lenient measure of restraint; The detention of persons suspected or accused of committing the crimes listed in paragraph 1.1 of Art. 108 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation for crimes in the economic sphere, if these crimes were committed in the field of entrepreneurial activity. Meanwhile, detention may be chosen as a preventive measure in the above cases, that is, for crimes in the field of entrepreneurial activity and in cases for which a sentence of imprisonment of less than 3 years can be imposed, in the presence of one of the following grounds :

there is no permanent place of residence in the Russian Federation;
the identity of the suspect or accused has not been established;
the previously chosen preventive measure was violated;
the suspect or accused has fled from the preliminary investigation authorities or the court.

It should be borne in mind that a list of diseases has currently been approved, the presence of which prevents the selection of a preventive measure in the form of detention in relation to a suspect or accused. The list itself and the procedure for medical examination are approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of January 14, 2011 No. 3 “On medical examination of suspects or accused of committing crimes.”

The period of detention in a pre-trial detention center before trial is 2 months, but if the investigation was not completed within the prescribed period, the court has the right to extend this period to 6 months.

If a person is suspected or accused of committing a serious or especially serious crime, and the case itself is quite complex and extensive, the period of stay in a pre-trial detention center can be increased to 12 months. In exceptional cases and only for particularly serious crimes, this period can be extended to 18 months. No further extension of deadlines is permitted.

It should be taken into account that the period of detention of the person is also included in the specified period.
That is, when calculating the period of detention, the initial time of detention is taken as the time of detention of the person, and in the case when the person was not detained, the time of the court’s decision on detention. How long can entrepreneurs be kept in pre-trial detention until trial?
A bill is currently being prepared stipulating that this period cannot exceed 2 months. If the investigator wants to extend the stay in the pre-trial detention center, he will have to indicate what actions will be taken in the case and why he did not do this earlier. The purpose of the bill is to eliminate from practice cases where entrepreneurs are detained for a long time without actually conducting an investigation.

Conditions of detention

As a rule, isolation wards are very similar to prison cells. Sometimes they are not even equipped with plumbing, and all that is in the cell are beds.

An important condition is that one isolator cannot simultaneously contain:

male and female persons;
adults and minors;
first-time offenders and repeat offenders;
suspects and those transferred from pre-trial detention centers;
persons accused of the same crime;
especially dangerous criminals;
citizens of the Russian Federation, foreigners and stateless persons;
former employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, military personnel, court representatives, etc.
smokers and non-smokers.

The determination of the persons who will coexist in the cell occurs in accordance with their character and psychological characteristics.

If a child ends up in a temporary detention center, he can be moved to a temporary detention facility with improved conditions. Such premises, as a rule, are equipped with everything necessary, including sanitary facilities, lamps, hoods, cabinets, washing supplies, drinking water, and so on.

In a cell with improved conditions, people can be given newspapers and magazines, board games, bath accessories, and room cleaning equipment.

Does detention count towards the term of imprisonment?

Detention is, in essence, a preventive measure, an “insurance” for the investigation—a citizen’s freedom is limited, although he has not yet been officially found guilty. Therefore, the state rightly provided a system for counting the terms of detention against the term of the sentence imposed.

According to Article 72 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, a day spent in a pre-trial detention center is equivalent to:

1 day of imprisonment, arrest, forced labor;
2 days of restriction of freedom;
3 days of correctional labor or restrictions on military service;
8 hours of compulsory work.

It is interesting that if a person was placed in custody, released, and then again placed in custody for the same case, the time spent in the pre-trial detention center for the second time includes the time previously spent there for the first arrest.

Regime in the temporary detention center

All detainees must obey certain rules of procedure established in the temporary detention facility. Suspects spend most of their time in a locked cell, but they also have the right to:

For a daily walk, two hours for minors and an hour for adults, subject to availability of space for such walks.
Conversations with a lawyer, which can also take place every day, last no more than 2 hours.
With the permission of law enforcement officers, to communicate with family members no more than 2 times a month, no longer than 3 hours.
For a trip to the shower or bathhouse, which occurs once a week.
Leave the cell to participate in investigative activities.
For schoolchildren - for training with a teacher, in special cases, if this is considered necessary.
To send letters, telegrams, which are paid for at the expense of the temporary detention facility.
To file complaints about the internal conditions of detention or the work of temporary detention facility employees.

If the conditions of stay are violated, the detainee may be moved to solitary confinement. This can happen if the offender:

Insulted other persons in custody.
He attempted to attack prison staff.
Received or stored alcohol-containing products or drugs.
Received or stored other items prohibited for transfer.
Repeatedly violated other conditions of detention.

When placed in a punishment cell, prisoners are deprived of the right to correspondence, visits with relatives, and use of entertainment materials.

Right to rehabilitation

There are situations when, during the investigation, it becomes clear that a person is not involved in a crime or that there is no crime as such. What happens in this case?

The investigator (inquiry officer) decides to terminate the criminal case or criminal prosecution, the judge pronounces an acquittal, and the suspect or accused has the right to rehabilitation. The longer the period of detention of the suspect before a court decision or the period of stay in a pre-trial detention center, the greater the compensation. The state compensates for lost earnings, attorney's fees, loss of ability to work, the value of confiscated property and other harm caused to a person as a result of illegal and unfounded criminal prosecution and restriction of his freedom. In addition, the person is restored to his labor, housing and other rights. The right to rehabilitation is recognized by the court or investigator.

You can claim monetary compensation in court. The rehabilitated person may also demand compensation for moral damage according to the rules of civil proceedings. The court independently sets the amount of compensation, but if the person disagrees with this amount, the person has the right to appeal the decision.

Terms of detention

According to the law, from the moment of actual arrest, the suspect can be placed in a temporary detention center for no longer than 48 hours. According to the court's decision, he can be detained for another 72 hours, but no more.

As for cases of using a temporary detention facility as a place to serve an administrative sentence, the violator can be held here for up to 15 days.

The length of stay of a prisoner transferred from a pre-trial detention center is determined by the judicial authorities individually in each specific case. However, the number of days they spent in a temporary detention facility should not exceed 10 days during a calendar month.

What's planned

Surely many, if not all, who have any relation or interest in this topic have heard about the Bill numbered 73983-5 dated June 20, 2008. The main idea of this bill is to amend Article 72 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation:

on counting the time of holding a person in custody before the court verdict enters into legal force into the term of serving a sentence of imprisonment.

That is, it is proposed to add an amendment to the provisions currently in force (described above), which will equate the credit of 1 day in a pre-trial detention center to 1.5 days in a general and strict regime colony and 1.5 days in an educational colony. The verbatim text of the proposed changes with the latest amendments is as follows:

The period of imprisonment includes the time a person is held in custody before arriving at the place where the sentence is to be served, at the rate of one day for:
one day of serving a sentence in a prison and special regime correctional colonies, as well as the stay of a convict serving a sentence in a general regime correctional colony, educational colony or settlement colony, in strict conditions, in a punishment or disciplinary isolator, a cell-type room or a single cell-type room , in accordance with articles 115 and 136 of the Criminal Executive Code of the Russian Federation;
one and a half days of serving in a correctional colony of general and strict regime or an educational colony;
two days of serving in a colony settlement.
The procedure for counting the time a person is held in custody before a court sentence enters into legal force into a term of imprisonment is determined by the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation.

This bill has received enormous support from citizens, since many equate a pre-trial detention center and a prison to the same thing, and it is worth saying that these opinions are not without meaning, since the conditions of detention are really close. Indeed, the conditions in the pre-trial detention center are not much different from those in prison, and in order to get into the pre-trial detention center, no special effort is required.

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: