CAT/OP/PRT/1 including through providing the follow-up commission on the implementation of the compulsory internment regime with adequate resources and support. 37. An overarching problem identified by the Subcommittee during its visits to prisons and psychiatric and forensic units was understaffing of security and medical personnel. Lack of staff results in a lack of control over the prison population, leads to inter-prisoner conflicts, compromises timely medical attention and slows down the processing of disciplinary proceedings, among others. In this context, the Subcommittee welcomes the ongoing recruitment of 400 prison guards and additional medical personnel. 38. The Subcommittee urges the State party to allocate sufficient budgetary resources to ensure the adequate administrative, medical and security staffing of prisons and psychiatric and forensic units. 39. Another particular problem noted was prison overcrowding. While the overall country statistics indicate that there is no overcrowding, the fact remains that overcrowding exists owing to the uneven distribution of inmates between prisons, resulting in some locations being underpopulated and the others working above their capacity – for example, Porto Prison. While welcoming the State party’s intention to incarcerate inmates in prisons close to their families, the Subcommittee stresses that overcrowding has detrimental consequences on material conditions, security, discipline and other aspects of prison functioning, including the organization and frequency of visits. 40. The Subcommittee notes that detention should always be a measure of last resort for all persons, especially for those below the age of 18.10 It urges the State party to continue broadening the use of alternative sanctions, such as electronic surveillance, probation, bail, mediation, community service and suspended sentences, and, if necessary, to amend legislation to this end in order to abolish prison sentences for certain crimes, such as driving without a licence, and to decrease the prison population. 41. The Subcommittee notes that, pursuant to section IV of the Criminal Code, detainees can apply for parole after serving half, two thirds or five sixths of their sentence, depending on the length of the sentence and provided a number of conditions are met. The delegation, however, heard from the inmates that conditional release is rarely granted and that the decision-making process is not transparent. Some alleged corruption on the part of prison management concerning recommendations they have to provide to the Tribunal de Execução das Penas (sentence enforcement court). 42. The Subcommittee recommends that the State party allow for the conditional release of prisoners whenever they meet the legally prescribed conditions. It also recommends that prisoners be kept fully apprised of the stages reached in the decision-making process regarding their conditional release and the reasons for the decisions taken. 43. The Subcommittee delegation found the conditions at the Lisbon Airport Immigration and Borders Service holding facility for migrants and asylum seekers and the Santo António detention facility in Porto adequate for temporary accommodation of immigrants and asylum seekers. The delegation noted a problem, however, regarding access of detainees to legal counsel at the airport facility. Although migrants in detention were informed of their right to counsel, lawyers were rarely present to assist them because they had to pay an entrance fee of about €12, charged by the private company that managed the airport. The Subcommittee recommends that the State party negotiate with the private company managing the airport a free passage for lawyers working with migrants. 44. The Santo António detention facility had very good material conditions and most immigrants who stayed there did not have complaints in that regard. However, in both facilities the migrants and asylum seekers raised worrying allegations concerning a lack of 10 8 Human Rights Committee, general comment No. 35 (2014) on liberty and security of person, para. 18; Convention on the Rights of the Child, article 37; and the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice (the Beijing Rules), paras. 13 and 19.