MONITORING PLACES OF DETENTION : A PRACTICAL GUIDE FOR NGOS 42 1.2. Length of the visits The visits must be long enough to be able to talk with the individuals in charge of the place, their subordinates, and a representative sample of the persons held there, and to examine the facilities and living conditions. The length of the visit should also, however, reflect the fact that visits can disrupt or inhibit the work of the staff in charge of the persons deprived of their liberty. It is thus important to strike a balance between the need for efficient monitoring and the constraints inherent in the way such places function. The length of the visit can be estimated on the basis of the following factors: ■ the size of the visiting team; ■ the emotional stress caused by visits; it is thus not realistic to plan very long visiting days; ■ the content of the visit agreement between the NGO and the authorities and any constraints contained in the agreement; ■ how much is already known about the places to be visited: ➤ Has the NGO already visited the place? ➤ Has it received information from third parties which helps it to estimate the time needed for the visit? ■ the size of the place of detention and the number of persons held there; ■ the type of place of detention; ➤ the security regimes applied (the higher the securi- ty, the longer it can take to move about within the detention facility);