MONITORING METHODOLOGY D. INITIAL CONTACTS TO ESTABLISH PRIOR TO THE VISIT Contacts with the place of deprivation of liberty IN CASE OF AN UNANNOUNCED VISIT, prior contacts with the facility must not be established. IN CASE OF AN ANNOUNCED VISIT, the monitoring body should first enter into contact with the head of the facility, by phone (informal) or through an official letter (formal). The aim of this initial contact can be: ʺʺ To explain the purpose of the visit; ʺʺ To communicate the basic elements of the first visit (examples: dates and number of days of visit, composition of the team, foreseen programme of visit, etc.); ʺʺ To address specific requests for the visit (authorisation to access the place, approval for bringing any material which may be prohibited inside such as laptop, camera or recording device); ʺʺ To ask the director to communicate to children information about the monitoring visit that will be conducted within the place concerned See – Section 4.2. / F. – p.64; ʺʺ To ask the director to provide the team with a map of the premises. Contacts with other key persons If a youth council or some kind of board of children deprived of their liberty exists in the facility to be visited, it should be contacted and consulted about elements that should be looked at during the monitoring process. The authorities responsible for the place to be visited have to be contacted at least to be informed of the announced visit or, if required, to get their approval to conduct the visit. It may also be useful to inform other political, judicial or administrative authorities that have a functional link with the facility that will be visited by a monitoring body. Other monitoring or visiting bodies shall also be informed of the visit as part of the cooperation and communication that has to be developed and agreed between them. Some external bodies in this context (such as voluntary organizations or residents living close to the structure) may also be contacted in order to identify potential key areas to explore during the visit. 63 4