Life in Shanghai's detention centers is more comfortable than it used to be, the Shanghai People's Prosecutors' Office said yesterday.

The office announced during a monthly meeting yesterday that it has taken a series of actions over the past nine months to improve the environment in local detention houses and better protect the human rights of suspects.

Criminal suspects at the Pudong District Detention House were recently surprised to find paintings and well-known sayings hanging on a wall that once held slogans.

"It is just one of our actions. Compared with the past, the current situation is more humanized," said Zhu Bochen, the spokesman for the Prosecutors' Office.

Suspects no longer need to have their heads shaved and are now permitted to have closely cropped hair.

In order to avoid extorting a confession by torture, 12 detention houses have already installed isolation bars, and the rest of the city's detention houses are installing them now, Zhu said.

The Jiading District Detention House spent 28,000 yuan (US$3,373) on an ID card system to let suspects know how much money they have in their accounts.