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a much larger part is ‘hidden under the waterline’ (see also below § 5).88
Figure 3: Iceberg model – Monitoring prison violence
On the tip of the iceberg there are events and outcomes (direct
violence) such as violent acts between prisoners, assaults on
prison staff, incidents of self-harm and suicide as well as other
custodial deaths.
High numbers of violent incidents can alert NPMs and signal the
need for a more in-depth investigation.89 However, as violence
often happens behind closed cell doors and remains unreported,
such numbers should not be the only indicator for prison violence.
Underneath the waterline there are patterns and underlying
structures (structural violence), such as trends in how authority
and leadership are exercised, regulations, procedures, programmes
and policies as well as measures for their implementation and
88. A useful tool for monitoring in this regard is the: PRI and APT, Institutional Culture in Detention: A
Framework for Preventive Monitoring (PRI and APT 2015) [PRI and APT, Institutional Culture].
89. Such as the ad hoc visit of the Council of Europe’s CPT to the United Kingdom, which took place from
13 to 23 May 2019 due to persistently high levels of violence in the local male adult prisons and juvenile
detention centres, as well as broader concerns regarding regimes, the use of force, segregation and use
of means of restraint.: CPT,‘Report on the Visit to the United Kingdom’ (2020) CPT/Inf (2020) 18.
Monitoring Prison Violence
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