CAT/OP/HND/3 aware, while not excluding any type of institution or any geographic area from the scope of its work. 19. The national preventive mechanism should plan its work and its use of resources in such a way as to ensure that it is able to conduct its visits to places of detention properly.8 The Subcommittee recommends that the national preventive mechanism divide up the tasks to be conducted by its members before their arrival at a place of detention in order to avoid any duplication of work and to enable them to cover as many areas as possible. It also recommends that they choose specific issues to be addressed with particular attention during each visit. The make-up of the visiting team should be such as to allow both general and specific issues to be covered and should include a health-care professional, preferably a doctor. 20. The Subcommittee believes that, in the medium term, it is important for the national preventive mechanism to have operational guidelines and handbooks that will provide a means of transferring knowledge when the membership of CONAPREV changes. The Subcommittee recommends that the national preventive mechanism develop guidelines for visits to the various types of places of detention, including guidelines for conducting private interviews, as well as policies for dealing with vulnerable groups of inmates and ensuring that information from all available sources is collected.9 21. The Subcommittee believes that unannounced visits or visits for which short notice is given make it possible to obtain a clearer picture of the prevailing conditions in places of detention. The Subcommittee recommends that information about the national preventive mechanism’s visits should be kept confidential so that unannounced visits can be made. During visits 22. Overall, the members of the Subcommittee observed that the CONAPREV team members behaved correctly in their dealings with the authorities in places of detention. They also observed, however, that the team’s contacts with persons deprived of their liberty were extremely brief and that the principle that interviews should be confidential and voluntary was not fully respected. The Subcommittee is of the view that an accurate, complete presentation of the mechanism’s mandate and objectives facilitates communication with interviewees and thus improves the interviews. The Subcommittee recommends that the members of the national preventive mechanism introduce themselves to persons being held in custody and tell them their name, profession and the position they occupy in the national preventive mechanism. The interviewer should explain what the mandate of the national preventive mechanism is, placing particular emphasis on its preventive nature. The interviewer should also obtain the consent of the interviewee and make it clear that the interview is confidential, voluntary and can be interrupted at any time at the interviewee’s request. The Subcommittee also recommends that the national preventive mechanism prepare a pamphlet that describes its mandate and working methods, explains the concept of informed consent and provides contact information. It should also indicate that any type of reprisal should be reported to the national preventive mechanism. 23. Private interviews of persons who have been deprived of their liberty are a fundamental component of preventive visits and are specifically authorized in the Optional Protocol.10 In principle, unless there are sound reasons for doing otherwise, the 8 9 10 6 CAT/OP/12/5, para. 34. CAT/OP/1, para. 13. Optional Protocol, art. 20 (d). GE.13-40547