           The use of alternative sentencing should be considered where appropriate to reduce the prison population Regular visits to all places of deprivation of liberty by NGOs should be facilitated, together with ongoing visits by international treaty bodies as appropriate The use of unauthorized places of deprivation of liberty and incommunicado detention should be prohibited Regular and practically oriented training on torture prevention should be provided for judges, lawyers, prosecutors, law enforcement personnel, prison staff, medical personnel, NGOs and the media Codes of conduct for law enforcement personnel should be established Governments should make public statements condemning instances of torture where appropriate Awareness-raising campaigns on torture and its prevention should be instituted Mechanisms should be established for providing reparation and rehabilitation for victims of torture and protection for witnesses, investigators and family from reprisals Medical personnel should be appropriately trained to recognize and deal with torture victims Governments should support the creation and strengthening of independent and National Human Rights Institutions with the necessary resources Vulnerable groups (such as women, refugees, migrants and minorities) should be afforded special protection commensurate with their needs 3.3 OSCE experience: planning and implementing a torture-prevention strategy Following is a suggested approach derived from OSCE experience to planning and implementing anti-torture activity. It is important initially to identify other actors working in the field – international and national organizations in general and, in particular, those focusing specifically on anti-torture issues. At the same time, information needs to be collected on the type of anti-torture activities being implemented, to assess where activities might be implemented jointly, to avoid overlap, and to determine what gaps exist. Another useful initial step is the collection of country-specific data, such as the location of places of pre- and post-trial detention and the number of detainees, and the existence of specialized detention facilities, including psychiatric institutions, detention centres for asylum seekers and juvenile facilities. Likewise, it is important to identify the types of training facilities that already exist for judges, prison staff, police and medical staff, and whether the current curricula incorporate general human rights and specific anti-torture elements. A key aspect to determining what support a country needs in implementing antitorture activities is familiarity with the national and international legal framework. Thus, it should be determined what international legal instruments have been signed 28