Place concerned Topic Specific issue Supervision of the CGLPL's general recommendations Use of video conferencing All places of deprivation of liberty Equal treatment Treatment of women Searches Access to psychiatric healthcare Building of new institutions Penal institutions Penal Prison overcrowding Prison overcrowding Alternatives to incarceration Prison regulation Recommendation The CGLPL recommends setting up, within each ministry concerned, official supervision of the action taken subsequent to its recommendations, including those expressed in the institution's annual reports, clearly identifying the recommendations upon which the Government does not intend to act. Given the observed extended use of video conferencing, the CGLPL draws attention to its previous recommendations, according to which the use of such means may only be voluntary, subject to a decision that is always reversible by the judge with the final say and subject to the consent of the person concerned. It particularly points out that the use of video conferencing may not alter the public or confidential nature of hearings or affect lawyer-client privilege. Under no circumstances must imprisonment constitute an obstacle to application of the gender equality principle proclaimed in the preamble of the 1946 Constitution. Women and men must be treated equally inside places of deprivation of liberty, a requirement which must not, for all that, prevent certain needs specific to women from being taken into account. The CGLPL stresses, for all places of deprivation of liberty, that respect for human dignity prevents any possibility of conducting a search of women's sanitary towels. Women also find it difficult to access specialist structures equipped for their needs (access to psychiatric care in particular) and specific situations (restricted access to the day-parole regime). As such, to ensure that men and women have equal access to psychiatric care, regional mental health departments for prisons (SMPR) and units for difficult psychiatric patients (UMDs) must all be able to accommodate women. The same applies for wings/centres for adjusted sentences and open wings/prisons, the moment there is a strict framework governing the way in which prisoners are accommodated and treated. Concerning the problem of overcrowding, and its consequences in terms of individual cell allocation, the CGLPL is of the opinion that developing real estate projects alone cannot represent an effective solution. Establish a more dynamic policy bearing on sentence adjustments and alternatives to prison, so as to help reverse the trend of prison overcrowding and encourage rehabilitation – a key factor in preventing recidivism. Conduct a systematic policy aimed at looking for accommodation options tailored to people handed out very short prison sentences and prisoners whose advanced age or failing health is incompatible with being kept in detention. Incorporate into the legal system a prison regulation mechanism, enabling account to be taken of prisons' occupancy capacities in legal decisions. 153 Chapter 3 3 2 2 2 1 1 1 1