npm annual report 2016 / observations and recommendations • The Central Administration Unit of the Criminal Sanctions Agency has issued guidelines on imposing disciplinary punishments. The guidelines aim to harmonise the practices and policies of prisons. One prison applied a practice that was clearly stricter than the guidelines. Severe disciplinary punishments were imposed for minor infractions. As a rule, the prison imposed the maximum punishments defined in the guidelines or even more severe sanctions. Disciplinary decisions did not specify reasons for the application of maximum sanctions. In addition to the lack of justifications, decisions also included deficiencies concerning the recording and investigation of infractions (Mikkeli). • The relations between the prison staff and prisoners were tense and poor. Prisoners expressed heavy criticism regarding the actions of the prison and its staff. They described the staff ’s behaviour as commanding, disdainful, arbitrary and humiliating. It also appeared that prisoners were often taken to the isolation unit using force even if the prisoners’ behaviour did not warrant the use of force. It also seemed that in certain cases the staff had unnecessarily caused the situation to escalate with their own actions. The prison had many practices that were different from those followed in other prisons, were not based on law and were partially against provisions. In the interviews, prisoners mentioned, for example, that they had too much idle time. They considered it degrading that warders sometimes gave them their meals through the hatch in the cell door. The Deputy-Ombudsman considered the practice of serving food through the hatch to be inappropriate. He noted that warders should supervise prisoners and their facilities. Serving food is a natural opportunity for doing that and also for assessing the prisoner’s condition by talking to them. The Deputy-Ombudsman considered that the polarisation between prisoners and staff was stronger than usual, and a certain atmosphere of fear prevailed between the two groups. He considered it highly important to change the prison’s operating culture and attitude towards its inmates. The atmosphere would likely improve if the prison discontinued its unjustified and unlawful practices that were very different from those applied in other prisons (Mikkeli). Comment: The prison has reported that it will launch various projects concerning the treatment of prisoners and the relations between prisoners and staff in accordance with its action and development plan for 2017. It will introduce a feedback system for prisoners. Food will no longer be served through the cell door hatch. • Foreign prisoners were interviewed in Arabic, Sorani and Russian with the help of interpreters. They said that none of them were provided with information on prison rules and activities or their own rights and duties when they first arrived. The prison had not provided interpretation. Two of the prisoners had been urged to learn Finnish if they wanted to speak with the staff. One remand prisoner had requested access to interpretation for approximately a month in order to settle 39