2.8.1 Given the concerns about the care and conditions of incarceration of inmates transferred to or detained in police custody, outlined in 2.1 and 2.4.6 above, the Committee is of the opinion that should the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture (OPCAT) not have been ratified within 18 months of the promulgation of the Correctional Matters Amendment Act, the amendments regarding the permissible period of detention in police custody should be referred to Parliament for reconsideration.