constitutional and legal powers, we take actions aimed at strengthening the protection and respect of the rights and freedoms of persons deprived of their liberty. As a result, this assessment of the current situation is based on the data collected while performing the protective role and on the data collected while performing NPM activities. 3.1. Accommodation conditions Accommodation conditions, which include the totality of health, hygienic and spatial requirements, are still one of the main causes for violation or restriction of the rights and freedoms of persons deprived of their liberty. The overcrowding of the prison system is not only one of the primary generators of violations of the right to accommodation guaranteeing human dignity and health standards, but it also causes restrictions of numerous other rights and freedoms of persons in the prison system. Further, overcrowding causes numerous organisational difficulties and has direct effects on the security situation in penal institutions, especially when having in mind the understaffing of the security department according to the relevant systematizations. According to the data published in the annual Report on the situation and functioning of penitentiaries, prisons and correctional facilities for 2012, the prison system's occupancy rate was 154% in 2010, 134% in 2011 and 126% in 2012. According to the data provided by the Central Office of the Prison System Directorate, on 31 December 2013 the prison system's occupancy rate was 115%, which continues the trend of the declining overcrowding rate. Although this information is encouraging, we must keep in mind that the prison system's average occupancy rate in high security conditions, regardless of the trend of decline in the general overcrowding rate of the prison system, stands at 122%, while the prisons' average occupancy rate in high security conditions amounts to 149%. What this represents to a person deprived of liberty placed under high security conditions is best illustrated with an example of Zagreb County Prison, where during the visit it was established that up to seven prisoners are placed in 16 m2 dormitories. The table, on which the prisoners eat because meals are distributed in dormitories, is located immediately next to the toilet, which is partially separated from the rest of the room by a barrier not reaching the ceiling. Because of the insufficient number of chairs, prisoners eat on their beds, where they in general spend the largest part of their day. At Lepoglava State Prison, the surface of the room intended for carrying out the specific measure of maintaining order and security - placement in a specially secured room devoid of dangerous objects, amounts to only 2.60 m2 and therefore is not in compliance with the minimum legal standards. However, when considering the criteria referred to in CPT standards, under which all rooms measuring less than 6 m2 should be taken out of service, only two rooms out of twelve in the A1 ward would be suitable for the accommodation of prisoners. The claim that the prison system's accommodation conditions are a systematic problem is also confirmed by the Office of the Representative of the Republic of Croatia before the European Court of Human Rights' Report for 2012, where it is stated that Croatian cases related to execution of prison sentences are characterised by a high share of repetitive cases and that in