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Preventive detention has long been a highly controversial precautionary measure and is widely defined by scholars as the most severe measure within criminal proceedings, as it entails the deprivation of liberty of an individual who has not yet been convicted. Its application requires caution and strict adherence to the principles of presumption of innocence, integrity, and the dignity of the accused. This article defines and analyzes the three types of preventive detention established under Spanish law: communicated detention, incommunicado detention, and attenuated detention, each designed to ensure the proper development of the criminal process. Communicated detention constitutes the general rule and allows the detainee to maintain contact with the outside world through oral, written, and telephone communication. This regime, safeguarded by constitutional and penitentiary norms, guarantees the rights of pretrial detainees to interact with relatives, legal counsel, and other relevant actors, subject to reasonable limits aimed at security and institutional order. In contrast, incommunicado detention is conceived as an exceptional measure intended to preserve the integrity of criminal investigations. Its purpose is to prevent the detainee from destroying evidence, coordinating testimony, or acting against the victim. This modality is subject to strict temporal limits and requires judicial authorization, given its substantial restrictions on fundamental rights such as communication and the right to choose legal representation. Finally, attenuated detention arises as a response to humanitarian or health conditions that make placement in a penitentiary facility incompatible. Taken together, these three forms of preventive detention seek to balance the needs of criminal proceedings with the protection of the human rights of the accused.
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