National Preventive Mechanism Tenth Annual Report 2018–19 Spotlight on prevention Article 1 of OPCAT states that a system of oversight must be established ‘in order to prevent torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment’. OPCAT is a unique international treaty because it focuses on preventing human rights abuses before they happen rather than on the action that should be taken once a violation has happened. Under OPCAT, oversight bodies like the SPT and NPMs are the best way of making the practice of prevention a reality. It is critical that, as an NPM, we ensure we are using international standards when examining whether the government is fulfilling its obligation to protect the human rights of people in detention. For its 10th year, the NPM has reflected on what prevention means and looks like in practice. Preventive monitoring Preventive monitoring means working to a wide-ranging set of standards that contribute to creating an environment where torture and ill-treatment is less likely to happen.7 A preventive approach, as defined by the Association for Prevention of Torture, means that visits to places of detention are proactive rather than reactive so that signs of illtreatment are spotted before they occur. Although reports of mistreatment must be addressed by complaints or investigative bodies, preventive monitoring means developing a system of oversight where practices are routinely observed and analysed. Visits should therefore be regular, opening facilities up to scrutiny and transparency. OPCAT does not outline the regularity or frequency with which NPMs should carry out visits – it is left to the discretion of the monitoring body.8 Many independent custody volunteers, for example, aim to visit police stations every week to ensure effective oversight of detainees’ well-being, and independent monitoring boards visit prisons around two or three times a week. Other NPM members prioritise visits based on certain risk factors or specific intelligence. Prisons are inspected by HMI Prisons at least once every five years, whereas highrisk establishments such as those holding children and young people are inspected more frequently. A spirit of cooperation is another important feature of preventive monitoring. Inspectorates issue recommendations to the authorities responsible for the policies and practices that apply in places of detention. Recommendations facilitate a dialogue with these authorities with a view to improving the situation in detention. Lay visiting bodies engage routinely with those managing establishments to pass on any concerns and monitor progress against them. NPM members have at their disposal a variety of ways to raise their findings with officials, politicians, parliamentarians and wider stakeholder groups to secure their implementation. 7 Further information on prevention can be found in the SPT’s document, The approach of the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture to the concept of prevention of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment under the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT/OP/12/6), November 2010 available at http://docstore.ohchr.org/SelfServices/FilesHandler.ashx?enc=6QkG1d%2fPPR iCAqhKb7yhsquBlBCPFD%2bXLNadyD9hiZ4R2ifOm%2fkPeiu3sYGHOmGMsGCei%2fqxK3MyHYEY%2bGl%2b0olrf33FTl4nDS khMm0WAHWDw1BE%2fFCFsu8qp2vhJ5DM 8 Hardwick and Murray, 'Regularity of OPCAT visits by NPMs', Australian Journal of Human Rights, April 2019, available at https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1323238X.2019.1588054 14