209.One of the most important safeguards against ill-treatment of prisoners is the presence of properly trained and professional staff whose interpersonal skills are such that they are able to carry out their duties without having recourse to ill-treatment or to excessive use of coercive control. The SPT recommends a thorough review of special interventions in response to prison incidents. The review should include: rotating staff deployed in that function; providing training in the use of force in conformity with human rights principles; increasing oversight by prison managers of prison incidents; strictly regulated deployment of staff for interventions; and introducing independent monitoring of the resort to, and the operation of, such intervention. 12. Material conditions 210.The provision of decent conditions is important for the well being of prisoners and staff. Poor material conditions are exacerbated by overcrowding and adversely affect everyone living or working in prison; they contribute to the tensions in custody and to the deterioration of relations among prisoners and between prisoners and staff, which in turn increases the risk of ill treatment. 211.The Maafushi Prison is a former factory which was turned into a prison some 10 years ago. It consisted of 10 units, nine of them for male prisoners and one (unit 5) for female detainees. Unit 4 was closed due to renovation. The official capacity of the prison is 453, and at the time of the visit 505 persons were held there, among them 30 foreigners of whom one was held there in remand custody. 212.Material conditions in the establishment were generally good. For example the dormitories of unit 3 were well ventilated, clean, and enjoyed access to both natural and artificial light. They were equipped with partitioned sanitary spaces, bunk beds, some wardrobes and cupboards, shelves, tables and chairs. 213.The exception was Unit 1 which was used as a segregation unit. Cells in wing A measured 3.1 x 2.2 m, the cells in the rest of the unit being smaller. The prisoners interviewed by the delegation complained about lack of mattresses and unsanitary conditions. In discussions with the Director of the DPRS it was alleged that mattresses were destroyed by the prisoners themselves. The SPT recommends that all prisoners, including those held in segregation, are provided with appropriate bedding with mattresses, which, if necessary, are made of special indestructible material suitable for use in prisons. The SPT further recommends that proper sanitary facilities should be made available for persons held in that unit. 214.In the Malé Remand Centre the prisoners were held in cage-type dormitories each equipped with beds for approximately 20 persons. At the time of the visit 55 persons were held in the facility, and the delegation heard allegations that a large number of prisoners were moved to other facilities before the visit. The building itself was in a very poor state of repair;dormitories had poor access to daylight and had no proper ventilation system. The hygienic state of the facility was poor, and the dormitories had almost no other furniture except beds.In SPTs view the conditions in the Centre are unacceptable for any category of prisoner; in particular, it is an utterly unsuitable place to hold sentenced prisoners, some of whom were facing very long periods of imprisonment. 215.In discussions with the Director of the DPRS, the delegation was informed that the authorities were aware of the poor conditions in the Malé Prison, and that it was to be closed soon after the new prison was opened. The SPT requests to be informed of the closing of the Malé Remand Centre. 216.The delegation also visited the new prison building in Malé. The design of the new prison was based on a new architectural model for correctional institutions. The main feature of the prison was a unit consisting of a number of cells located around an indoor yard, with a guard booth made of glass. There are three different sizes of cells: the small cells for single occupancy measuring 10 m2, bigger cells intended for two or three prisoners and dormitories intended to accommodate 16 persons. There was a toilet and water tap in each cell. 217.The delegation paid attention to the fact that these new cells were dark due to weak access to natural light, dark colours used in the cells and elsewhere in the prison (dark red and dark green) and the fact that there were no windows facing outside but only small indoor windows. Furthermore, the delegation noted the lack of privacy in the toilet area, the lack of a yard for outdoor exercise, and the lack of space for activities and meetings with family members. The SPT recommends that these design flaws be addressed before opening of the prison and requests to be informed of its opening. 218.The authorities had informed the delegation that construction work for a new prison on the south Atol of Gan was currently underway. The SPT visited the building under construction in Gan, however, it appeared to be planned as a new Hithadhoo Police station and detention facility rather than a new prison. In this new establishment there was a complex of 10 cells each measuring 6.3 m2. The cell complex was separated from the rest of the building by a wall, which made the corridor and the cells rather dark. Furthermore, the cells enjoyed poor access to natural light, as windows were small and badly placed. There was no yard or exercise space, but on both sides of the corridor there was some space which could easily to be used as an exercise yard. The SPT requests the authorities to confirm whether this new establishment is intended to be used as a prison facility under the DPRS or whether it will be used as a police detention facility, and to indicate what is intended to be its maximum holding capacity. 219.In the discussions with the Director of DPRS, the SPT was informed, that at the time of the visit, there were more than 900 sentenced prisoners in the Maldives. The SPT was also informed that thecountry’s convicted prison population has increased by 243 per cent from February 2000 to September 2007, and that the authorities were aware that, should the current high levels of punishment for minor drug abuses continue, there would be approximately 2,500 prisoners in three years. 220.The SPT notes the plans for these new facilities to ease the situation in Maafushi prison and allow the closing of the Malé Remand Centre. However, prison building alone will not constitute, and should not be seen, as the sole solution. A coherent strategy to reduce the number of people in prison should include a range of measures other than prison building: increased use of bail,