Photo: Rune Sævig, Bergens Tidende. 14 NORWEGIAN PARLIAMENTARY OMBUDSMAN National Preventive Mechanism ANNUAL REPORT 2018 Visits to prevent torture The NPM visits facilities all over Norway where people are, or could be, deprived of their liberty. This includes public and private institutions and facilities. In 2018, we visited prisons, child welfare institutions, and mental healthcare institutions. We also followed up places visited previous years, including the detention center at Trandum. Several other sectors fall within our mandate, but priorities have been necessary in line with available resources. The NPM does not replace the role of supervisory bodies. All of the sectors in which we conduct visits have dedicated bodies that are responsible for ongoing supervision. The NPM is in dialogue with these bodies in connection with its visits and can also make recommendations to them. Mapping and information gathering before visits As a rule, the places we visit are not informed about when the visit will take place. Most are notified that a visit will take place within a period of two to four months. This enables the NPM to gather information from several sources before the visit. Key sources in this phase include documents from the place to be visited, the supervisory authorities, official authorities, and other relevant bodies. The NPM has access to all necessary information that is relevant to the conditions in places of detention. Examples include administrative decisions, patient records, statistics, and internal documents on operations. The NPM maintains the right to conduct fully unannounced visits where this is most conducive to achieve the prevention objective.