IV)  Prison staffing Interviews with the educators showed their lack of motivation as, instead of performing educative, pedagogic, diagnostic and preventive activities to which they are qualified, they have to perform a number of other tasks which require no qualification at all. To give an example, the already mentioned escorts to the phone machine are very time-consuming and, while the convicts are speaking on the phone, the educator cannot work on other things. 21 This is even though CPT criticised the educators’ passivity already during the 2008 visit to the Czech Republic; their main task seemed to be delivering and collecting mail and filling up activity boxes in the imprisonment plans. 22 understaffing limits work with the convicts In some prisons, the lack of educators was apparent. Above, I quoted Section 2 (2) of the Imprisonment Rules according to which, as a rule, one educator should take care of 20 convicts at maximum. I found that the number of convicts per educator was usually above 20. I even encountered sections where the limit was exceeded by 100% or more. The lack of educators coupled with the considerable administrative burden and tasks that should not be carried out by educators paralyses their ability to influence the convicts and hinders achieving the purpose of imprisonment. It can also lead to their overworking and quick burnout. I recommend that the General Directorate of the Prison Service: •• Re-evaluates the working tasks of the educators with respect to the amount of administrative burden. •• Ensures that the real number of convicts per educator in each prison section does not generally exceed the number of 20; this should be implemented by the end of 2017. 21 The lengthy escorts of the convicts to the phone machines is completely unnecessary in many countries (e.g. in Germany and Slovenia), as the convicts there have telephone lines available at their cells (of course, they are only allowed to call pre-approved numbers). 22 EUROPEAN COMMITTEE FOR THE PREVENTION OF TORTURE AND INHUMAN OR DEGRADING TREATMENT OR PUNISHMENT (CPT). Report to the Czech Government on the visit to the Czech Republic carried out by the CPT from 25 March to 2 April 2008, par. 62. Available at: http://www.vlada.cz/assets/ppov/rlp/dokumenty/zpravy – -plneni-mezin-umluv/report-cpt--czech-rep--2008-_czech_.pdf. /14/