1. PRISON MANAGEMENT 157 Prisoners must be able to make requests and complaints to any or all of the individuals or bodies listed above, in any order. There should be no requirement to exhaust one avenue of request or complaint before accessing another. Clear information must be provided to prisoners on who they should address their requests and complaints to and how they can do so. 1 FIGURE 1: DIFFERENT TYPES OF REQUESTS AND COMPLAINTS AND RESULTING PROCEDURES 36 DAY-TO-DAY REQUESTS AND COMPLAINTS MORE SERIOUS COMPLAINTS COMPLAINTS OF TORTURE OR OTHER ILL-TREATMENT Raised through informal complaints procedures Require recourse to formal complaint mechanisms Must be investigated even if there is no complaint Can be tackled without recourse to formal procedures Require formal investigation and response Must be dealt with immediately and investigated promptly and impartially If unresolved can be escalated into a formal request/ complaint If rejected or delayed it can be escalated to a judicial or other authority Formal investigation and prosecution. Steps must be taken to protect the victim and any witnesses Day-to-day requests and complaints 158 Complaints refer to a wide range of issues of different severity. The majority of complaints will, most likely, relate to day-to-day matters and, while they may seem relatively minor to authorities, such matters are extremely important to prisoners themselves and can have a major impact on their daily lives. Complaints could include, for example, complaints about food, noise levels, problems with contacting families and lost or stolen property. Such issues are also likely to affect large numbers of prisoners and can often be dealt with quickly with few resource requirements. If dealt with effectively, the response to such complaints can significantly reduce levels of anger and stress within a prison facility. 159 The UN Special Rapporteur on torture has noted that day-to-day complaints can be addressed by empowering independent, dedicated persons to receive and handle minor complaints and ensure that steps are taken within a reasonable period of time to set aside the funds required to give effect to these rights.62 62. Special Rapporteur on torture, A/68/295, op. cit. note 57, para. 78. Guidance document on the Nelson Mandela Rules