Cont ents on the implementation of the Psychiatric Hospitals (Compulsory Admission) Act and on the reduction of separation. Decision-making around involuntary treatment as well as the prevention, implementation and documentation of separations must improve in particular. This fact especially applies to addiction care institutions. Care providers must endeavour to ensure that they comply with the applicable standards and monitor their own compliance with these standards in the interests of patient safety. The Health and Youth Care Inspectorate has undertaken follow-up visits. In the case of two institutions, a separation room could not be used on the Inspectorate’s instructions until the necessary improvements had been made. Quality of performance of tasks by prisons The Inspectorate of Justice and Security, which is part of the NPM, has conducted an investigation into the quality of the performance of tasks by prisons. In the majority of the six penal institutions investigated in 2017, this quality was found to be inadequate. These prisons have greater or lesser problems in terms of internal safety, communication with prisoners and the availability of properly trained staff. Since these problems may also occur in the other 18 penal institutions, the Inspectorate of Justice and Security wants the Custodial Institutions Agency to screen these institutions for the risks in terms of staff, safety and communication with prisoners. According to the Inspectorate of Justice and Security, the majority of prison staff do not have enough time to tackle the regular tasks that arise within institutions effectively. Staff do not have enough time for contact with prisoners. As a result, they are no longer always able to recognise signs of a potential escalation or other unsafe situations at an early stage. Lack of staff and consequently inadequate supervision of prisoners undermines internal safety. In addition, staff encounter more aggression from prisoners and there has been an increase in the number of aggression-related incidents (2015: 5, 2017: 18). The penal institutions also lack the modern technology required to prevent contraband goods from being brought in or to detect them. In recent years, penal institutions have held more and more prisoners with psychiatric and behavioural problems. These individuals are more aggressive, will not listen to reason and have more psychiatric problems. As a result, staff feel unsafe. Under a new policy, prisoners have recently been allowed to move around the institution more independently. If this policy is to work effectively, adequate staffing and good technology are essential. It is also important that staff know the target group well, including the level of freedom that is appropriate to each prisoner. These fundamental requirements have not yet been met. In the short term, the problems identified pose risks for the safety of staff and prisoners. In the long term, the Inspectorate anticipates risks around the effectiveness and enforcement of prison sentences as well as their consequences for the reduction of recidivism, among other things. The Inspectorate of Justice and Security makes six recommendations in its report, ranging from the screening of all penal institutions to investment in education and training. Both the Custodial Institutions Agency and a number of the establishments 5