CAT/C/POL/CO/7 (c) Prevent overcrowding, with a view to bringing conditions of detention into line with international standards enshrined in the Nelson Mandela Rules and the United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders (the Bangkok Rules), and ensure that prisoners have living space in accordance with the national standard; (d) Build new penitentiary units and refurbish and modernize historic and older units, taking into account their sanitation and toilet facilities, lighting, ventilation and heating; remove all inmates from cells with mould; provide for meaningful activity and sufficient exercise for all persons deprived of their liberty; (e) Ensure the clinical independence of medical staff in prisons and transfer responsibility for them to the Ministry of Health; hire additional qualified medical and psychiatric personnel and psychologists; enable the referral of inmates requiring specialized medical care to outside medical facilities without delays for administrative reasons or because of a lack of prison staff to escort them; (f) Introduce a risk assessment tool across the prison system; provide training to penitentiary staff in the management of prisoners and the prevention of violence, self-mutilation and suicides; and promptly, thoroughly and impartially investigate all incidents of violence and deaths in custody, ensuring independent forensic examination. Investigation of acts of torture and an independent complaints mechanism 31. The Committee is concerned: (a) About the low number of conclusive prosecutions of alleged acts of torture of persons deprived of their liberty, in particular by law enforcement officials, other than those pursuant to cases brought before the European Court of Human Rights; and about the discrepancy between the number of complaints submitted by victims of torture and illtreatment and the number of sentences handed down, despite the issuance by the Prosecutor General of guidelines regarding crimes related to the deprivation of life or inhuman or degrading treatment and punishment where the perpetrator is a police officer or other public official; (b) That the merging of the functions of Minister of Justice and Prosecutor General may have a negative effect regarding investigations into violations of the Convention; (c) That, out of 39,000 complaints submitted by inmates in 2016, mainly concerning their treatment by Prison Service officers, living conditions and health care, only 377 were found to be justified; (d) That budgetary and staffing constraints are curtailing the ability of the national preventive mechanism to monitor all places of deprivation of liberty and to receive and process complaints. 32. The State party should: (a) Ensure that all reports of torture or ill-treatment are investigated and establish an investigative mechanism that is capable of carrying out independent and effective criminal investigations and prosecutions of allegations of torture and illtreatment committed by public officials, and that operates independently; (b) Ensure that complainants are protected against any ill-treatment, intimidation or reprisals as a consequence of their complaint; that they are duly informed of the actions taken on their complaint; and that victims are provided with redress and compensation; (c) Establish the reasons for the discrepancy between the number of complaints submitted with regard to living conditions and health care in prisons and the number found to be justified; 11