Report of the Human Rights Defender on the activities of the National Preventive Mechanism in Poland in 2012 1. Methodology All visits under the National Preventive Mechanism are unannounced. The objective of monitoring any place of detention is to obtain the most accurate image of the visited establishment. If such visits were announced in advance, they could provide a distorted image of everyday life in the place of detention, since their announcement would give the administration time to prepare and, possibly, to conceal real problems. An unannounced visit to an establishment allows the visiting team to see the reality, and collect facts about the observance of the rights of detainees or kinds of violations of such rights. In all the visited establishments, the National Preventive Mechanism operates based on the same methodology. The first stage is to establish the composition of the visiting group. According to OPCAT, experts of national preventive mechanisms should have the required capabilities and expertise. The visiting team usually consists of several persons, with one person performing the role of the group coordinator. Two persons, including the team coordinator responsible for drawing up the report from the visit, perform the inspection of the premises and buildings of the establishment, while others conduct individual conversations with prisoners. In order for groups to be interdisciplinary, the visits are also performed by experts in general medicine, psychiatrists and psychologists. They draft an expert opinion which is incorporated in the visit report. The duration of a visit depends on the size of the visited establishment and on the problems encountered on site. It usually lasts for one to three days. The visits of the National Preventive Mechanism have the following stages: • A conversation with the management; • Inspection of all rooms; • Individual and group conversations with the detainees; • Conversations with the personnel; • Analysis of documents; • Formulation of post-visit recommendations during the conversation summing up the visit, and receiving explanations from the management. During the visits, the National Preventive Mechanism representatives use measuring and recording devices, namely a  CEM DT-8820 multimeter, Makita LD060P laser distance meter, and a camera. If an inmate reports an unlawful event, he/she has the opportunity to lodge an official complaint. Yet if the person does not consent to addressing the issue 22