Convicted individuals are placed in cells according to criteria such as sex and age in particular, pursuant to Chapter 3, Paragraph 1 of the regulations of the Ministry of Justice. Individuals who present a risk of suicide may be placed with those deemed more psychologically stable.

An accused person has the right to prepare his/her defence with his/her lawyer before the trial. The confidentiality of exchanges and visits between an inmate and their lawyer is guaranteed. The presence of the lawyer is not mandatory during the interrogations.

The prison governor is required to notify the family immediately after the death. They are informed by telephone or letter. If contact information is not available, the police must identify the relatives and inform them of the death.

Following a visit in 2017, the CPT noted the absence of allegations of physical ill-treatment by the staff and the small number of complaints of verbal abuse¹.

The Helsinki Committee stated that the most frequent complaints are of physical or verbal abuse by staff members.

The presence of a lawyer is not required during interrogations.
Only bodily injuries are recorded in the medical file of the inmate, but the CPT recommends keeping a register of all injuries inflicted in detention facilities in order to facilitate the identification of cases of ill-treatment¹.

The medical staff of the prison is not trained to identify and document signs of torture and ill-treatment.

In 2016, the Polish NPM published the case of an inmate who was beaten by a police officer before his arrival in prison (in Polish). Despite visible injuries on his face, the medical staff did not record the incident in his medical file. A general motion of the NPM indicated the urgent need to train prison medical staff in the regulations of the Istanbul Protocol.

The most common forms of violence between inmates are fights and beatings. The attacks typically occur shortly after incarceration, in unsupervised areas such as bathrooms and rooms normally used for strip searches.

Most of the attacks occur inside cells, as members of rival gangs sometimes share cells. Some vulnerable inmates are also targets of violence. Fights often break out in the exercise yards. The decreased usage of communal showers has reduced the number of attacks that take place there.

This violence is exacerbated by overpopulation and insufficient staff.

The CPT considers the staff to be adequately trained in the prevention of violence and says that staff reactions to violence are appropriate¹.

The ECHR reserves its condemnations for inhuman or degrading treatment related to poor conditions in detention, such as overpopulation, or to repressive measures, such as long-term isolation or a dangerous regime being imposed on prisoners.

The internal regulations define the modalities for filing complaints and the administrative body responsible for examining them. Complaints and requests must be examined without undue delay, no later than 14 days after the notification of receipt. This period can be extended in justified cases.
The Regulation of the Ministry of Justice of 13 August 2003 on the modalities for the examination of applications and complaints of untried prisoners and inmates (OJ 2013, 647) constitutes the specific provisions in this matter.
Complaints are handled by:

• the prison governor, if the complaint is addressed directly to him and concerns a transfer issue or the behaviour of an employee or an official
• the regional director of the prison administration, if the complaint concerns the activity of an establishment under his administrative supervision
• the director general of the prison administration or a person designated by him, if the complaint concerns the activity of the regional management of the prison administration
• the Minister of Justice or a person designated by him, if the complaint concerns the activity of the central management of the prison administration

Inmates can file complaints with a judge against a decision of the prison governor or the general or regional management of the prison services. Individuals deprived of liberty can also file complaints with the European Court of Human Rights and the United Nations Human Rights Committee. Although there are several methods of filing complaints, inmates rarely see results, meaning they do not have effective options for responding to violations of their rights in detention.

Following up on the implementation of NPM recommendations occurs primarily in writing. The Commissioner for Human Rights communicates directly with the establishment in question. A follow-up visit is sometimes organised to verify the implementation of the recommendation.

The prison facilities are subject to other external monitoring bodies.
The highest supervisory authority is the Supreme Audit Office, an independent entity which monitors public finances and is authorised to visit prisons. The Supreme Court conducted an enquiry in 2011 regarding the health care provided in prison.
The prisons are placed under the supervision of penitentiary judges. Articles 32 to 36 of the Penal Enforcement Code states that the penitentiary judge can access any establishment at any time. In practice, the penitentiary judges visit the prisons once per year¹.

The budget of the ombudsman has decreased over the last few years, going from $9,457,000 (PLN 37 million) in 2015 to $8,947,000 (PLN 35 million) in 2016.
The specific budget allocated to the NPM in 2016 was $605,400 (about PLN 2 million). This amount was not enough to finance the committee of experts created in 2016. Although 121 visits were carried out in 2015, there were only 85 in 2016¹.

The penitentiary court, a department of the regional court, is the competent authority for authorising sentence adjustments.

In medium security prisons (semi-open), prisoners can obtain permission to leave every two months, for a maximum of 14 days per year.
In minimum security prisons (open), prisoners can theoretically obtain permission once per month, for a maximum of 28 days per year.

Presidential pardons are granted by the Polish President.