12 NORWEGIAN PARLIAMENTARY OMBUDSMAN National Preventive Mechanism ANNUAL REPORT 2020 conduct as many interviews as possible and that interviews include those who may be most at risk of having their rights violated. When we visit small institutions, it is important that the visit takes place at a time when as many people as possible are available to interview. The number of persons that have been deprived of their liberty, the staff and their shifts, and the presence of managers are factors that should be considered when planning a visit. During the NPM’s visits, the conditions at the institution are examined through observations, interviews, and document reviews. Thorough planning form the basis of a successful visit A considerable amount of time is spent on pre­ paring visits, including prioritisation of the places to visit and when to visit them. To be able to carry out systematic and effective preventive work, access by the Ombudsman to different sources of information is crucial. A review of relevant documentation before the visit makes it possible to identify potential risk factors for degrading and inhuman treatment. This ensures that the visits address the challenges that are most relevant to the place in question. The mandate covers all places where people have been or can be deprived of their liberty. This means that the places visited by the NPM can have major variations in size, organisation and management. These differences make it neccessary to continually develop our working methods. Visits must also be planned to ensure that we can talk to as many people as possible at the institution in question. When we visit large institutions, it is important to plan in a way that enables us to Prior to visits, we prepare interview guides adapted to the different groups we wish to interview. All conversations take place in the form of partly structured interviews with two members of the NPM present. This ensures that the information we receive during the interviews is adequately documented. In addition to interview guides, we also prepare documents that examine issues that we expect to find at the institution we are visiting. These can depend on the type of institution, whether it is private or public, its size and so on. — In 2020, the Parliamentary Ombudsman's National Preventive Mechanism carried out visits to child welfare institutions, housing facilities for persons with intellectual disabilities, care homes for elderly and mental healthcare institutions for children and adolescents. —