CAT/C/ECU/CO/4-6 (c) Continue to support training on the use of the Manual on the Effective Investigation and Documentation of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (the Istanbul Protocol). Conditions in detention 22. The Committee takes note of the information provided by the State party on the marked reduction in the numbers of people behind bars and on steps taken to deal with the problem of prison overcrowding, notably the introduction of a new inmate benefit calculation system with the reform of the Sentencing Implementation Code. It notes the reprieves granted in 2008 to 2,228 persons detained for being in possession of small quantities of narcotic or psychotropic drugs, and of 13 detainees in the terminal phases of illness. It also notes that since 2006 additional budgetary allocations have been made for the construction, expansion and outfitting of penitentiaries and remand facilities. The Committee is nevertheless concerned at the high levels of occupancy recorded at most detention facilities, mainly as a result of the slow processing of court cases, and reiterates its concern at persistent reports of poor health and hygiene conditions, a lack of staff, inadequate health-care services and a shortage of drinking water and food (art. 11). The State party should: (a) Make greater efforts to alleviate overcrowding in prisons, in particular by resorting to alternatives to custodial sentences, in order to reach its stated objective of resolving the problem of prison overcrowding within 18 months; (b) Continue to put into effect plans to improve and expand the prison infrastructure; (c) Take steps to improve staffing levels generally and increase the number of prison officials in particular; (d) Augment the health-care resources available in penitentiary institutions and ensure that the medical assistance given to detainees is of high quality. Free legal assistance 23. The Committee notes the positive impact of efforts by the Public Defence Service to reduce the numbers of people held in pretrial detention – 501 on 31 August 2010. As stipulated in article 191 of the Constitution, the Public Defence Service “shall have human and material resources and working conditions equivalent to those of the Office of the Public Prosecutor” (arts. 2 and 11). The State party should assign to the Public Defence Service the human, financial and material resources it needs to accomplish its objectives in order to extend the scope of its efforts and make the system more efficient. Redress, including compensation and rehabilitation 24. The Committee takes note of Decree No. 1317 of 9 September 2008 making the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights responsible for “coordinating the execution of sentences, precautionary measures, provisional measures, amicable settlements, recommendations and resolutions originating in the inter-American human rights system and in the universal system of human rights���. It regrets, however, the slowness of the State party in giving full effect to the amicable settlements and decisions reached in the interAmerican human rights system and the shortage of information about the redress and compensation, including rehabilitation, awarded to victims of human rights violations. GE.11-40392 9