MONITORING PLACES OF DETENTION : A PRACTICAL GUIDE FOR NGOS 58 1.4. Checking the information The legitimacy and efficiency of the NGO's efforts will be established over time, mainly as a result of the relevance and consistency of its work. Any information obtained in the place of detention which is not concretely verifiable must, within reason, be subjected to the examination of various sources (detainees, detainers, external sources). Unless there are serious doubts as to their veracity, any allegations of torture or ill-treatment should be transmitted—with the above-mentioned precautions as regards representations made in the name of individuals—to the authorities, at a level which does not endanger the person concerned by the allegation. The burden of proof, i.e., the responsibility to carry out a more thorough investigation of these cases and the circumstances in which they occurred, falls upon the detaining authorities. 2. TALK WITH THE HEAD OF THE PLACE OF DETENTION AT THE START OF THE VISIT The first visit to a place of detention should begin with a talk between the visiting team and the person in charge of the place or his or her deputy. This talk, which is the first step in establishing a dialogue with the authorities, serves to: ■ introduce the NGO and the members of the visiting team; ■ explain: ➤ the meaning and objectives of the visits, ➤ the working methods used, in particular the absolute need to talk in private with the persons deprived of