3 Regular visits to places where people are deprived of their liberty is the main tool in the work to prevent torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Both announced and unannounced visits are made, and they provide a thorough insight into the conditions for those deprived of their liberty and the vulnerable situation they find themselves in. The work in 2015 was not limited to carrying out visits, however. Broad preventive efforts have been made, which have included dialogue with the authorities, civil society, supervisory and appeal bodies, teaching and lectures, exchange of information, participation in consultation rounds and cooperation with international human rights bodies. In autumn 2014, the national preventive mechanism (NPM) started visiting prisons and police custody facilities, and it continued to visit these sectors in 2015. The NPM has also carried out visits to the police immigration detention centre at Trandum and to three mental health care institutions during the course of the year. A visit to the Norwegian Customs and Excise's premises for detention at Oslo Airport Gardermoen was also conducted. In total, 15 visits were conducted in 2015. The visits to the police immigration detention centre and the mental health care institutions have resulted in recommendations being made in new areas. At the same time, there are many similarities between the different places of detention visited and the challenges they face, including across sectors. In the annual report you now hold in your hand, you can read three articles that give an in-depth description of findings and recommendations in areas in which we have identified similar challenges and problems across several sectors in 2015. This concerns the use of coercive measures during the deprivation of liberty, activity programmes and measures to combat isolation, and the role of health personnel who treat people deprived of their liberty. In 2016, the NPM will continue to focus on further developing its work methods. It has gained additional specialist expertise during the past year and regularly makes use of external experts and obtains information from its advisory committee, among others. I look forward to further building on the solid foundation we have laid in 2015, and taking the NPM into new sectors within the mandate laid out in the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture. The Optional Protocol celebrates its tenth anniversary in June 2016, and the Parliamentary Ombudsman will, through its mandate as the national preventive mechanism, help to ensure that this important area of work is further advanced in Norway. Aage Thor Falkanger Parliamentary Ombudsman