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4.3.9. Closed Circuit Television (CCTV)
CCTV often gives the illusion of oversight. The fact that CCTV monitoring
is used does not mean that a detainee is being monitored and cared for. At
times, CCTV might even mean that the prisoner has even less interaction
with staff, who do not have to physically check on him/her. For these
reasons, it is necessary to go beyond the way CCTV monitoring is currently
used. Another issue is represented by the fact that often a person that is
monitored via CCTV cannot decide to have this kind of monitoring. CCTV
is more common in private prisons because it allows them to function
with fewer staff members. However, CCTV is not a substitute for staff. It
is important to have it in the corridors or the common areas, but when it
is used in the cells, it interferes with the right to privacy of the prisoner
and
may make solitary confinement more harmful than it otherwise
would be. The cases in which it is acceptable to have CCTV in the cells
are very limited and usually refer to the need of protecting a detainee at
risk of self-harm. Even in this case CCTV should be used for a very short
amount of time and should not cover the entire cell and allow some spaces
of privacy to the inmate at least in the bathroom (or at least resorting to
blurring out the toilet area).
4.4. Follow-up activities
Follow-up activities of various kinds identified during the Rome seminar
on solitary confinement and interviews with NPMs work from different
angles to identify and tackle the many issues concerning solitary
confinement that can be found during the visits.
The first kind of follow-up is the feedback on the visit (and subsequent
report). On this topic, several NPMs have stressed the importance of
asking for feedback not only from the prison director but also from other
professionals working in the prison; it is important to involve them in the
reporting mechanism because it helps to raise awareness to the fact that
they are involved in the fundamentals rights of the detained person whose
life and well-being is temporarily entrusted to them.
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