passivity where the warders are concerned. These acts particularly involve harassment or cruel games against vulnerable people, primarily sexual offenders concerning whom the general consensus is that they "had it coming". Over the course of their visits and from the letter they received, the CGLPL members have sensed an escalating "climate of violence" prevailing in prisons. The emergency recommendation that the Chief inspector of places of deprivation of liberty submitted to the Minister of Justice on 18 November 2016 regarding the Fresnes prison described a situation which is sadly not a unique case – even though it has reached extreme proportions in this institution where it is compounded by serious failings in terms of hygiene. The causes are often the same: prison overcrowding, a shortage of warders, insufficient supervision and boredom. An investigation is opened for each of the cases of violence reported, whatever its alleged cause. The Management of the institution is usually the first to be informed, which quite often then refers the case to the judicial authority. When prisoners contact the CGLPL, they often also reach out to other authorities or associations: usually the French President, the Minister of Justice, the director of the interregional department of prison services, the Defender of Rights and the French Section of the International Prisons Watchdog. All of these organisations come up against the same hurdles when trying to determine what really happened: an event that often dates back, for which the eye-witness accounts are unreliable. Whilst the materiality of the allegations of violence is therefore seldom established, they are made with such frequency that there cannot be any doubt as to their credibility. European prison rule number 42.3 gives prison physicians a particular role to play in screening violent situations: "When examining a prisoner the medical practitioner or a qualified nurse reporting to such a medical practitioner shall pay particular attention to: […] c. recording and reporting to the relevant authorities any sign or indication that prisoners may have been treated violently". In a guide to inspection of prison medical services written in 2010, the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) includes an examination of the role these services have to play with respect to violence. The checklist thus described sets out in detail the role expected of the physician: "In accordance with the CPT's specific mandate, the following aspects concerning the screening of violent situations must be examined: - "Systematic drafting of a report of traumatic lesions in the event of alleged violence (upon admission to prison or during a stint in a penal institution); - "Terms for drafting reports of traumatic lesions and examination of their contents (sta tement from the person alleging to be the victim of violence, detailed medical examination, conclusion of the medical consultation); - "Existence of a register mentioning the reports of traumatic lesions (with inclusion of any statistics); - "Transmission of reports of traumatic lesions to an independent authority responsible for investigating the allegations (existence of a specific procedure to that effect); - "Possible request for medicolegal expert appraisals." The CGLPL highlights the important role played by health blocks in prisons in terms of properly screening for any violence which might be committed against prisoners, whatever form this may take. Indeed, these units are the only entity with the necessary proximity in terms of time and space and independence for making observations on the basis of which protection, investigation or remedy measures may then be drawn up. So that this role may be assumed in 22