X)  Prison visits 2) Arrangement of the visiting room Par. 24.4 EPR stipulates that visits must be arranged so as to allow prisoners to maintain and develop family relationships in as normal a manner as possible. I learned during the systematic visits that the material equipment of visiting rooms and their configuration varied significantly. One of the prison had not established any traditional visiting room by the time of the visit (visits for the medium security block took place in the gym and visits for the high security block in the canteen); in some prisons the visiting room was not designed to accommodate children (e.g. include a makeshift play area) while in others the visitors were seated on hard stools with no backrests, at a table with a low partition between the visitor and the convict. 135 In some prisons the tables in the visiting rooms were arranged in a line, minimising privacy of the visit – the convicts and their visitors disturbed the others present. example of visiting rooms with a linear arrangement example of visiting rooms with a “restaurant” arrangement I personally consider the so-called restaurant arrangement of visiting rooms (i.e. separate tables) to be more suitable. Checks and prevention of handover of addictive substances should be carried out using camera systems, not by restricting privacy during visits or reducing the convicts’ contact with visitors. Some prisons had no automatic beverage dispensers or dispensers with small packed snacks for visitors. On the other hand, others offered shopping in the prison canteen during visiting times. The latter approach, in my opinion, is an example of good practice which is not unreasonably limiting and yet minimises the risk of introduction of addictive substances. I recommend that the General Directorate of the Prison Service: •• Ensures that visiting rooms are primarily organised in the so-called restaurant arrangement. Other arrangements may be chosen in individually justified cases. 135 The latter arrangement was in place despite the fact that these were not visits “behind partition” as defined by Section 19 (6) of the Imprisonment Act. /49/