VISITS BY THE JOINT COMMISSION via a CCTV camera installed in the room. Human dignity demands that where video surveillance of a detention cell, including the toilet, is carried out, the detainee’s genital area must be obscured on the screen. Unrestricted monitoring of the detention cell can at most be considered on the basis of a carefully weighed up, well-founded and documented decision in an individual case where there is an acute risk of suicide or self-harm. However, mention should also be made in this context of the possibility of pixellation, which helps protect privacy and at the same time shows the person concerned’s actions in outline. The Joint Commission witnessed this in Frankfurt I Prison, for instance. Reference must also be made to the fact that Lower Saxony has already introduced pixellation of CCTV monitoring as standard procedure, including in specially secured rooms. The head of the institution reported that detainees awaiting deportation are not returned to Büren Prison after a failed deportation procedure. By order of the Ministry of Justice of North Rhine-Westphalia of 12 November 2012, after a failed deportation procedure the persons concerned must be taken to another 28 prison in North Rhine-Westphalia. The order contains a breakdown for the entire year, according to which a different prison is obliged to take in detainees awaiting deportation every six weeks. Apart from Büren Prison, no other prisons in North RhineWestphalia are equipped to accommodate detainees awaiting deportation. Holding detainees awaiting deportation separately from prisoners would, nevertheless, also have to be guaranteed in the other prisons. If the principle of the separation of prisoners and detainees awaiting deportation cannot be observed, the Joint Commission recommends rethinking this method of procedure. facility responsible for enforcing custody pending deportation against all men and women. Custody pending deportation is enforced by way of administrative assistance for the Ministry of the Interior. The Langenhagen Unit is also responsible for enforcing short terms of imprisonment and substitute prison sentences. The facility can hold a total of 22 male detainees and six female detainees awaiting deportation. At the time of the visit the facility had only seven male detainees in custody pending deportation. 1.7.1 – Recommendations of the Joint Commission During its visit the delegation met most of the detainees awaiting deportation in their detention rooms. The majority of the detainees gave the impression of being quite apathetic. Staff confirmed that they often neither used their free hour nor engaged in any sports or recreational activities. There are also no employment opportunities, a fact the detainees criticised when talking to the Joint Commission. The Joint Commission regrets that the detainees make limited use of the opportunities on offer. One possible reason could be the fact that due to the low occupancy rates the detainees hardly communicate with each other. Average occupancy rates have dropped from 27.48 in 2010 to 8.6 so far in 2013. Communication with other detainees and staff is difficult due to language barriers. In specialised facilities with higher occupancy rates the detainees awaiting deportation could be offered more purposeful activities. In addition, it would be easier for detainees to get into contact with other detainees and to share their experiences and engage in recreational activities together. In the long term, the Ministry of Justice of Lower Saxony should, therefore, possibly together with other Länder, sound out how the conditions of detention could be made more suitable. The National Agency suggests improving the detainees’ situation in custody pending deportation by taking suitable measures, for example bringing in a social worker or stepping up cooperation with volunteers or associations. Female detainees are kept in a separate wing in the prison. According to the head of the institution, sometimes only one woman is held there. At the time of the visit there were no women in custody pending deportation. The documents shown to the Joint Commission indicate that the number of women being detained in custody pending deportation has steadily dropped. So far in 2013 only four women have been in custody pending deportation. This can prove 1.7 – CUSTODY PENDING DEPORTATION IN HANOVER PRISON, LANGENHAGEN UNIT The Joint Commission inspected custody pending detention being enforced in Hanover Prison, Langenhagen Unit on 19 September 2013. It inspected the wings housing male and female detainees awaiting deportation, the sanitary facilities, as well as two specially secured rooms. The Joint Commission also spoke with several detainees awaiting deportation and with the doctor who works there on a freelance basis. According to Lower Saxony’s enforcement plan, Hanover Prison, Langenhagen Unit is the central 28 File no. 4431–IV.28 61