Part III: A systematic change perspective the concrete functioning of the particular place where they are found? These so called ‘levels of analysis’ are relevant components of a holistic approach to preventive monitoring.265 Quite naturally, because of the sheer impression that a visit makes on the monitors, NPMs tend to be mainly focused on the direct functioning of the particular places visited. In addition, the legislative level – i.e. problems rooted in the legal set-up – is clearly present in the thinking of most NPMs; this is probably not surprising given the fact that many persons with a legal background work in NPMs. Less clearly developed, on the other hand, is the focus on the examination of relevant public policies and their effect on problems found. Examples are found in the practice of the UK and the French NPMs which have carried out specific monitoring of public policies. The level of the higher administrative system/institutional arrangements is addressed most often in thematic reports/approaches (e.g. in Bulgaria, Croatia, France) which normally gather facts from several institutions and identify some common problems the causes of which lie at the system level. A comprehensive systemic analysis naturally requires a multidisciplinary perspective (see Chapter I.4 above). Building Block 2: Visualising desired change Relevant questions • Are we clear what we are trying to accomplish? What is our purpose? What is our mission/vision? • What are the areas/dimensions in which we think change needs to take place: in the treatment of persons deprived of their liberty and conditions of detention, in the concrete functioning and the management, at the organisational level/institutional arrangement, at the level of public policies, at the level of the law? • What needs to change in terms of the responsible authorities’ knowledge and understanding, skills, attitudes and values? In terms of the culture in places of detention? • How can recommendations best express and contribute to the change we want to see? Are the recommendations SMART? A ‘change perspective’ requires considering the question about the desired outcomes or the vision of the world that an organisation is working for. The OPCAT itself contains such a vision in its text: The ultimate goal of the visiting system is ‘to prevent torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment’ and ‘improving the treatment and the conditions of persons deprived of their liberty’.266 In other words, the OPCAT contains the vision of a world free from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and in which the treatment and the conditions of persons deprived of their liberty are in line with their inherent dignity and their human rights. Mission statement This vision must be made operational. The mission statement of an organisation translates its vision into a statement of purposeful action. In other words: Mission statements are expressions of the basic purpose of an organisation in the light of the vision it has for the future. ‘As a formal document, a mission statement should answer some very basic, yet vitally important questions: what is our purpose? Why do we exist? What are we trying to accomplish?’267 Mission statements as planning tools have first been developed in the business field, but they have increasingly been taken up in other contexts. Research has found that mission statements help clarify a shared identity of organisations and thus are helpful for improving strategic planning and performance.268 APT, Monitoring Police Custody (2013) 16. Arts 1 and 19 (1) OPCAT. 267 Bart C, ‘Industrial Firms and the Power of Mission’ (1997) 26 Industrial Marketing Management 371. 268 Ibid. - 92 265 266