CAT/C/FRA/CO/7 such violence with the administrative or judicial authorities or with the Inspector General of Places of Deprivation of Liberty (arts. 11 and 16). 22. The Committee recommends that the State party, as a matter of urgency, continue its efforts to improve conditions of detention by implementing the recommendations of the Inspector General of Places of Deprivation of Liberty, including, in particular, to: (a) effectively reduce prison overcrowding by making greater use of alternatives to imprisonment in line with the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for Non-custodial Measures (the Tokyo Rules) and the United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders (the Bangkok Rules); (b) improve physical conditions of detention; (c) ensure that all acts of violence at prison facilities are brought to the attention of the appropriate authorities and that thorough and impartial inquiries are conducted into them; (d) strengthen its National Action Plan against Violence in Prisons; and (e) ensure that prisoners are, in practice, able to file complaints with the Inspector General of Places of Deprivation of Liberty without fear of retaliation. Access to mental health care in prisons 23. The Committee is concerned by reports of: (a) insufficient availability of mental health care in prisons; (b) lack of medical staff providing mental health care in prison infirmaries; and (c) frequent use of solitary confinement for prisoners suffering from a mental health disorder and unsuitable physical conditions for their detention. It is also concerned that prisoners with mental health disorders are often placed in seclusion rooms or containment cells when transferred to outside referral hospitals (arts. 11 and 16). 24. The Committee recommends that the State party take appropriate steps to: (a) improve access to mental health services in prisons and increase the availability of trained, specialized health personnel; and (b) monitor the use of seclusion arrangements both in prison infirmaries and at outside referral hospitals. Suicides in prison 25. While taking note of the information provided by the State party, the Committee remains concerned by the high suicide rate in French prisons despite the steps taken under the 2009 national action plan to prevent suicide in prisons. The Committee shares the concerns of the Inspector General of Places of Deprivation of Liberty with regard to some of the factors contributing to the risk of suicide, such as placement in a disciplinary block, and with regard to the restrictions preventing systematic use of emergency protection measures and safe cells to prevent suicides (arts. 11 and 16). 26. The Committee recommends that the State party strengthen its policy for preventing suicides in prison, in particular by: (a) reducing the risk factors; (b) placing prisoners at risk of suicide in a disciplinary block solely in exceptional circumstances; and (c) stepping up monitoring and support when a prisoner is placed under emergency protection measures or in a safe cell. The Committee requests the State party to undertake an evaluation of its national action plan to prevent suicide in prisons and to report its findings to the Committee. Body searches 27. While taking note of the explanations provided by the State party, the Committee remains concerned by reports of frequent or even systematic use of full body searches at some facilities. The Committee is also concerned that, notwithstanding the adoption of the Prisons Act of 2009 and the memorandum of 15 November 2013, exceedingly intrusive methods that do not respect prisoners’ physical integrity continue to be used, and that the GE.16-09568 5