prolonged periods. The CPT recommends that, in the interest of the prevention of ill-treatment, persons remanded in custody be promptly transferred to a prison establishment and only be returned to a police detention facility when there is absolutely no other alternative and for the shortest time possible. 63. As regards prisons, the CPT’s delegation received no allegations of physical illtreatment of prisoners by staf at Szeged Prison or at the Central Prison Hospital and the Unit for HIV-positive prisoners in Tököl; however, several such allegations were received at Somogy County Remand Prison in Kaposvár and Sopronkőhida Prison. A number of accounts of verbal abuse of a racist nature and disrespectful remarks were also heard in the various establishments visited. Furthermore, in some of the establishments visited, interprisoner violence was an issue. The CPT also expresses serious doubts about the efectiveness of investigations into complaints of ill-treatment by prison staf. Hungarian authorities state that the current organisational system has brought positive results, such as the promotion of a unifed training system in the area of law enforcement and cost-efectiveness through the unifcation of technology and equipment. The CPT also expresses serious concerns about the lack of efective action to combat overcrowding (which has doubled since the 2009 visit and stood at 144% of the ofcial prison capacity in 2013). The CPT urges the authorities not to limit their response to a “balancing” programme whereby the Prison Service re-allocates prisoners nationwide to ensure a similar degree of overcrowding in each prison. Such an approach is inefective and does not address the root causes of overcrowding in prisons. In the light of these fndings, the CPT recommends that the national authorities redouble their eforts to combat ill-treatment by prison staf, review the system for investigating allegations of ill-treatment in order to make it more efective and protect the integrity of all prisoners, including against other inmates. Concerning the regime, many prisoners were still locked up in their cells for 23  hours a day, with little to occupy them. The CPT recommends that programmes of purposeful activities, tailored to the individual needs of the inmates, be further developed. In their response, the Hungarian authorities indicate that particular importance is being paid to this issue, including development of training, education and employment opportunities, and refer to the recent signifcant increase in the employment rate of prisoners. Since 2010, the responsibility for the administration of prisons has been placed, together with the police, under the authority of the Ministry of the Interior. The CPT is concerned that this approach may call into question the specifcities of the respective tasks of police and prison ofcers; it is also not in line with the European Prison Rules. The Committee invites the Hungarian authorities to reconsider their position on this matter. In their response, the The CPT’s report also notes that eforts have been made to improve the situation of prisoners serving lengthy sentences at Szeged Prison. For example, the Special Regime Unit for these inmates aimed to function as a genuine induction unit and the delegation’s fndings indicate that the Unit helped many of those prisoners to come to terms with their sentences, in particular those serving actual life sentences. However, as regards prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment General Report of the CPT, 2013-2014 ► Page 32