TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION A list of topics is provided in the Manual. Methodology: The trainees should be divided into small groups for discussion. Facilitators from the training team should be available to move around the groups to help with the discussions. Points to be highlighted/suggested areas for discussion: Prison staff are always open to criticism by prisoners, who may, quite wrongly, blame them for their imprisonment. Nevertheless, it is sometimes the case that the power of a prison official is misused. It is for the protection of conscientious staff as much as for that of prisoners that effective procedures must be put in place and strenuously upheld; 39. – Prisoners should have as much access as possible to senior members of staff and senior staff should be accessible to junior staff. This will help to create an environment where no one feels cut off from the decision-making process or free from supervision; 39. – Senior managers should keep in touch with what is going on by walking around all parts of the prison frequently and at irregular intervals, rather than by means of scheduled and predictable inspections; 39. – A policy of always investigating complaints made by prisoners is likely to deter any harassment of prisoners; 39. – The instruments state that requests and complaints should be resolved as close as possible to the point where the problem occurred; 39. – While it is necessary for prisoners to have, and to feel that they have, access to senior management to complain if treated unfairly, first-line prison staff must be trained and encouraged to explain rules and procedures fully before implementation. This is likely to reduce the number of complaints dramatically; 39. – It is the responsibility of the prison director to ensure that all staff adhere to the rules of the prison; 39. – Complaints from a large number of prisoners on the same subject suggest a problem. It might be that the staff are trying to implement a fair policy and that this is not being well received by a group of prisoners or it might be that the fair rules are not being implemented; 39. – If the rules on the allocation of labour are not being implemented, the director should review his own checking procedures, which have clearly failed. CASE STUDIES Methodology: A round-table discussion is recommended, with the trainees being assisted by a member of the training team. 128