DOC/OS(XXXIII)/324c/I 18 In principle, new arrivals are placed for some months temporarily in the so-called Observation Section, whatever their sentence, whether they are first offenders or not, and then they are supposed to be transferred to the appropriate section under the regime with least privileges (D). Several months may go by before changing sections or benefiting from another level of privileges, as the prisoners' situation is reviewed every six months, or even after several years (some inmates in Walvis Bay prison have been in this section for 2 or 3 years). Inmates must serve a third of their sentence before being reaching grade A. As in section F of Windhoek prison or section C of Hardap prison (the section in which most new prisoners are held), short term sentence prisoners or first time offenders are allowed to mix with those who are in prison for the long term or with habitual offenders, or even prisoners whose behaviour is considered negative by the administration and have consequently not satisfied the conditions for obtaining greater privileges or a transfer to another section. Inmates at Walvis Bay prison in the so-called "admission section" complained about the destructive effect of the conditions of imprisonment. "They were better when they first arrived, and they are no longer normal." The number of visits or letters a prisoner is allowed to receive and the nature of the items permitted in prison depend on the prisoners' grade and his/her conduct. These measures are not only unfavourable to preparing inmates for release, their return into society and maintaining family ties, they also create situations of inequality among the prisoners. This situation generates rancour and frustration, which are not always conducive to good behaviour. Furthermore, this system of inequality and privileges seems too rudimentary and can amount to a situation of arbitrariness. The system should be more constructive by favouring rehabilitation and being conceived in a way that will facilitate this. Thus, measures such as permission to go out and conjugal visits for married prisoners could be considered, including those serving long sentences, to encourage better behaviour, but above all, to promote the safeguarding of family ties and the offenders' reintroduction into the community. In police stations, overcrowding and management difficulties are the cause for the serious problems found by the delegation: promiscuity among persons with contagious diseases (Rundu), juveniles detained with adults (Windhoek, Grootfontein). In a cell in Windhoek central police station, for example, the delegation found an adult and a minor with very scanty clothing who were sharing the same blanket. However it was explained that the juvenile had no blanket and that was why they were sharing one. The delegation was told that some convicts are sometimes held in police stations because they are being charged for a second time or simply because there are not enough convicts in the opinion of the police authorities to justify a transfer to prison. It should also be noted that foreigners, illegal immigrants or those awaiting deportation are detained together with common law prisoners. Women are in principle segregated from men, but the staff who look after them are nearly all men. When there is no place for women remandees in a police station, they are transferred to the nearest police station. (Mariental police station transfers women to Kalkfeed station 62km away). Cells In prisons, accommodation is generally ventilated, dormitories are well lit and so are individual cells. Both usually adjoin a courtyard for exercise. The prisons visited mostly had both of these types of accommodation. The population density in prisons is high, but the layout (metal bunk beds fixed to the floor in the dormitories) means that most of the inmates sleep in a bed. Prisoners have a small individual locker, which is padlocked. Furthermore, each dormitory has an independent bathroom with showers, toilets, sinks and mirrors. There are a few separate cells, which are