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working in any facility where juveniles are or may be deprived of their liberty, to all juveniles and to all
records of such facilities.
73. Qualified medical officers attached to the inspecting authority or the public health service should
participate in the inspections, evaluating compliance with the rules concerning the physical
environment, hygiene, accommodation, food, exercise and medical services, as well as any other
aspect or conditions of institutional life that affect the physical and mental health of juveniles. Every
juvenile should have the right to talk in confidence to any inspecting officer.
74. After completing the inspection, the inspector should be required to submit a report on the
findings. The report should include an evaluation of the compliance of the detention facilities with the
present rules and relevant provisions of national law, and recommendations regarding any steps
considered necessary to ensure compliance with them. Any facts discovered by an inspector that
appear to indicate that a violation of legal provisions concerning the rights of juveniles or the operation
of a juvenile detention facility has occurred should be communicated to the competent authorities for
investigation and prosecution.
75. Every juvenile should have the opportunity of making requests or complaints to the director of the
detention facility and to his or her authorized representative.
76. Every juvenile should have the right to make a request or complaint, without censorship as to
substance, to the central administration, the judicial authority or other proper authorities through
approved channels, and to be informed of the response without delay.
77. Efforts should be made to establish an independent office (ombudsman) to receive and investigate
complaints made by juveniles deprived of their liberty and to assist in the achievement of equitable
settlements.
78. Every juvenile should have the right to request assistance from family members, legal counsellors,
humanitarian groups or others where possible, in order to make a complaint. Illiterate juveniles should
be provided with assistance should they need to use the services of public or private agencies and
organizations which provide legal counsel or which are competent to receive complaints.
N. Return to the community
79. All juveniles should benefit from arrangements designed to assist them in returning to society,
family life, education or employment after release. Procedures, including early release, and special
courses should be devised to this end.
80. Competent authorities should provide or ensure services to assist juveniles in re-establishing
themselves in society and to lessen prejudice against such juveniles. These services should ensure, to
the extent possible, that the juvenile is provided with suitable residence, employment, clothing, and
sufficient means to maintain himself or herself upon release in order to facilitate successful
reintegration. The representatives of agencies providing such services should be consulted and should
have access to juveniles while detained, with a view to assisting them in their return to the
community.
V. Personnel
81. Personnel should be qualified and include a sufficient number of specialists such as educators,
vocational instructors, counsellors, social workers, psychiatrists and psychologists. These and other
specialist staff should normally be employed on a permanent basis. This should not preclude part-time
or volunteer workers when the level of support and training they can provide is appropriate and
beneficial. Detention facilities should make use of all remedial, educational, moral, spiritual, and other
resources and forms of assistance that are appropriate and available in the community, according to
the individual needs and problems of detained juveniles.
82. The administration should provide for the careful selection and recruitment of every grade and
type of personnel, since the proper management of detention facilities depends on their integrity,