architectural optimisation would allow remote monitoring that demands fewer human resources. The error made here is not taking into account that prison administration requires human contact and that an essential part of the warders’ time is spent not just in surveillance, but also responding to the needs of the inmates. Therefore, it is not the architecture that dictates the staff requirement, but the number of detainees. If the reference organisation chart used to be hardly suitable in the beginning, prison overcrowding becomes a headache to manage. Several institutions visited in 2015 demonstrate this fact. In one prison, between 2012 and 2015, the number of prison staff increased by only two officers. Even so, the lack of staff, evaluated by fourteen inspectors in 2010 and addressed to the prison administration, still remains pertinent. During the first visit of the CGLPL in 2012, the institution’s request remained unheeded and in 2014, the director of the prison administration finally stated that it will not be heeded due to budgetary reasons. Nevertheless, during the 2015 visit, one task of the prison administration led to the execution of an analysis on the adaptation of the prison staff, the result of which is not known to the CGLPL. In another prison, an audit identified thirteen missing posts. Elsewhere, in one of the very few institutions with a suitable number of staff, the administration stated that the reference workforce is less than what is required by approximately 11 posts in every 150 officers. Of course, employment is being created, but this situation is rare. For example, in one prison, since an visit in November 2010, the number of directors increased by one person, the number of administrative staff by six persons, and that of prison warders by fourteen persons, i.e. 8%. In another prison, the organisation chart was modified to include nine additional posts, but this was due to a new task, the opening of the day parole wing. Secondly, the vacancies of the posts may be a result of their penalising nature. This sometimes results from the fact that the institution is not very attractive (poor location, difficult conditions, poor reputation, etc.), and sometimes from causes that are more difficult to identify. Vacancies of more than 10% are not rare. In one institution, out of a total requirement of 170 warders, only 148 posts were filled, which means 22 jobs without any takers; in another, there were 182 corporals and warders and 20 vacancies, as well as 20 new warders and 2 vacant posts; in a third, there were 183 corporals and warders and 16 vacancies, i.e. almost 10%. Thirdly, absenteeism severely penalises the institutions, in which the rhythm of work is highly stressed. In the prison that had only 148 out of 170 warders, the situation was worsened further by the fact that in practice, absenteeism brings down this number to approximately 130 officers. In these conditions, the functioning of the institution is a daily struggle. Elsewhere, the prison administration department hopes that the recent creation of jobs will help in reducing absenteeism, especially by reducing the number of accidents at work, as well as the overtime clocked by the warders. The absenteeism rate makes the various shifts in the institution complex, and leads to resentment in the officers who are always present. Sometimes, even when overstaffed, absenteeism is recurrent; palliative measures restricting fundamental rights are sometimes taken, such as doubling cell capacity using mattresses, which allows closing down the cells that cannot be monitored. factors. Two examples have allowed analysing the consequences of all of the aforementioned In the first case, the institution has an inhumane architecture, the inmates are tough, there is significant overcrowding and it is located in an area with a high cost of living. This makes it, in all respects, an institution that is not very attractive to police officers. 25