47 DOC/OS(XXXIII)/324c/I • External controls of detention in prisons and police stations should be strengthened. Visiting justices should use to the full the powers conferred on them by the prison law to contribute towards the improvement of conditions of prisons and police stations. • External controls should be increased and the parliamentary committee on safety should visit prisons and police stations regularly. The Ministries of Home Affairs, of Prisons and of Justice should try to collaborate more effectively with the Ombudsman's office. • Rules and practices should be harmonised so that all prisoners have the same rights and duties in respect of visits, exercise and permission to go out, etc. • NGOs should play a more important role in setting up training programmes, preparing prisoners for release, etc. • Release boards should be made operational without delay • Protection of minors should be strengthened both within prisons and in police stations. • Measures such as parole, judicial control, reductions of sentences, community service, diversion, mediation and permission to go out should all be developed. • Magistrates should be made aware of non-custodial measures and trained, and their number should be increased, as well as that of lawyers, in order to combat prison overcrowding. • Communications between personnel and prisoners should be improved to encourage the development of trust, which is necessary for mutual respect to exist. • Communication between the police, prisons and immigration services should be reinforced in order to allow foreigners awaiting transfer to a refugee camp or deportation to be dealt with without excessive delay. • The quality and quantity of food should be improved both in prisons and police stations. • Programmes for the occupation and rehabilitation of prisoners should be strengthened, particularly for juveniles and prisoners serving long term sentences. . Health Recommendations • The deficit of medical and paramedical personnel should be set right without delay. Large prisons such as those with high security, with a prison population of around 1,000 prisoners, should all have a qualified doctor as the head of the medical service. The Prison Health Board should also have more staff, notably by recruiting a doctor with epidemiological specialisation and a psychiatrist. It is essential that the Ministry in charge of prisons recruits its own psychiatrist who should be directly responsible for the care of mentally ill prisoners. This would only facilitate the work of the Legal Psychiatrist. • Ministerial departments and institutions involved in the management of the mentally ill in conflict with the law (Ministry in charge of Prisons, Health, Police, Justice, the Supreme Court and the Ombudsman's Office) should sit down together to discuss and harmonise their views on the management of this category of prisoners. They should agree on the interpretation of legal texts, in