&37*HQHUDO5HSRUW (d) Solitary confinement for protection purposes Every prison system has prisoners who may require protection from other prisoners. This may be because of the nature of their offence, their co-operation with the criminal justice authorities, inter-gang rivalry, debts outside or inside the prison or the general vulnerability of the person. While many prisoners can be managed in the general prison population in these circumstances, the risk to some is such that the prison can only discharge its duty of care to the individuals by keeping them apart from all other prisoners. This may be done at the prisoner’s own request or at the instigation of management when it is deemed necessary. Whatever the process, the fact is that it can be very difficult for a prisoner to come off protection for the rest of the sentence – and maybe even for subsequent sentences. States have an obligation to provide a safe environment for those confined to prison and should attempt to fulfil this obligation by allowing as much social interaction as possible among prisoners, consistent with the maintenance of good order. Resort should be had to solitary confinement for protection purposes only when there is absolutely no other way of ensuring the safety of the prisoner concerned. 7KHGHFLVLRQRISODFHPHQWLQVROLWDU\ FRQILQHPHQWSURFHGXUHVDQGVDIHJXDUGV 57. In order to ensure that solitary confinement is only imposed in exceptional circumstances and for the shortest time necessary, each type of solitary confinement should have its own distinct process for applying and reviewing it. The CPT outlines here what it considers to be the appropriate processes: (a) Solitary confinement as part of remand conditions As already indicated, solitary confinement of persons remanded in custody should only be used sparingly and where there is direct evidence in an individual case that there is a serious risk to the administration of justice if the prisoner concerned associates with particular inmates or others in general. Such decisions should be made in open court, with as fully reasoned a judgment as possible, and be separately appealable. They should also be reviewed by the competent court on a frequent basis to ensure that there is a continuing need for solitary confinement.