VISITS 3 – VISITS 3.1 – BASIC PRINCIPLES detainees’ personal files and other documents. It may ask to be provided with written information about the facility and about the form and organisation of the deprivation of liberty. In a final meeting with the head of the facility the delegation then discusses key results of the visit. These are also communicated to the highest supervisory authority by telephone following the visit. Nearly all of the visits the National Agency has conducted so far have given rise to a number of recommendations for improving the conditions of detention and treatment of detained persons, some of which related to unacceptable shortcomings. A detailed list of recommendations and the responses of the supervisory authorities regarding their implementation are included in Chapters III and IV of this Report. These chapters also include reports on visits conducted in 2012 regarding which either the report or the response of the supervisory authority were not yet available at the time the Annual Report 2012 went to press. As from 2014 the National Agency will ensure that the reports concerning its visits and the comments of the relevant ministries are published promptly on its website. The visits of the National Agency are conducted on the basis of international treaties and German law. In addition, it draws on the established practice of the Federal Constitutional Court, of the federal supreme courts and higher regional courts, as well as on international case law, including that of the European Court of Human Rights. It also incorporates the recommendations of the SPT and of the CPT into its assessments. The National Agency applies several criteria when selecting the places of detention it wishes to visit. As a matter of principle and being tasked with adopting a preventive approach, the Federal Agency and the Joint Commission visit as many facilities with different remits as possible. The choice of places of detention they visit is geared to the size and location of the facility, possible problem areas, and reports in the media or regarding individual cases. The Federal Agency and the Joint Commission endeavour to ensure an appropriate geographical distribution of the facilities visited. 3.2 – PROCEDURE The conduct of the National Agency’s inspection visits varies depending on the type of facility and local conditions. Only a general description of the modus operandi applied to these visits can thus be provided in the following. A delegation generally comprises two to four people, and the National Agency also draws on external experts. The Joint Commission generally notifies the relevant supervisory authority at short notice that it will be visiting a particular facility. Visits to police stations and prisons are conducted without prior announcement, sometimes at night or at the weekend. The Federal Agency generally announces its inspection visits less than 24 hours in advance to ensure that the relevant contacts are on hand. An inspection visit normally begins with an initial meeting with the head of the facility. The delegation then inspects the facility or individual areas, focusing on both the facility’s structural features and how detainees are treated and their deprivation of liberty is organised. The visiting delegation then holds private meetings with detainees, employees, including members of the specialist services, as well as, for example, with the works council; it chooses its interview partners itself. In addition, it inspects 18