CAT/OP/PAN/1 conditions were proportionally similar. This situation was different from that of a small number of detainees who were in better conditions of detention in cell No. 7. 63. The Subcommittee requests the State party to ensure that the Criminal Investigation Directorate’s provisional detention facility is used only for short-term provisional detention and that it offers the minimum conditions necessary for ensuring that the dignity of persons deprived of their liberty is respected. 64. In view of the situation in the majority of the State party’s places of detention, the Subcommittee recommends that the State party take urgent measures to address overcrowding, including by offering alternatives to imprisonment (community service, weekend arrest or house arrest), among other measures provided for in the criminal law of Panama, in line with the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for Noncustodial Measures (the Tokyo Rules). B. Food and drinking water 65. In the prisons visited by the Subcommittee, the prisoners recounted that the food was insufficient and of poor quality. The Subcommittee noted that food was served at highly irregular intervals. The Subcommittee also noted that access to drinking water was very limited. 66. The Subcommittee recommends that the State party ensure that prisons serve food at the usual times, that a record of food deliveries is kept to prevent corruption and that the food is wholesome, well prepared and sufficiently nutritious. Similarly, the State party should ensure that drinking water is available to all persons deprived of liberty whenever they need it (rule 22 of the Nelson Mandela Rules). 67. The Subcommittee was informed that, since the police substations were ostensibly places where persons were held in temporary police custody, they did not provide food or water. The Subcommittee found, however, that some of the persons held in the Calidonia substation had been there for five days. The Subcommittee was informed that some detainees received food from their family members and that they shared it with those who did not. 68. The Subcommittee is concerned about the unavailability of food and drinking water for persons in police custody. The Subcommittee recommends that the State party ensure access to safe drinking water and the provision of food to all persons in any form of detention, in accordance with international standards. No detainee should have to depend on third parties for food. C. Inmate self-rule and corruption 69. In several of the prisons it visited, the Subcommittee observed that, as a result of the sharing of power between gangs and prison authorities, prisoners themselves exercise various forms of self-rule. In some cases, this situation is caused by the shortage of qualified prison staff. In others, the police authorities or prison guards remain outside the cell blocks. This situation can also mask a system of out-and-out corruption. 70. A number of tasks, including cleaning, food distribution, access to medical care and opening and closing cells, are delegated to the leaders of the cell blocks and even, in the case of La Joya, to an overall leader. Enforcing discipline is sometimes delegated to prisoners themselves, in violation of rule 40 of the Nelson Mandela Rules. In some cell blocks, for example, prisoners who break rules are kept in solitary confinement in their own cells by their fellow prisoners, a practice that cannot occur without the acquiescence of the prison authorities. 71. This commingling of power in the prisons leads to various forms and degrees of prison self-rule. When they are very strong, gangs are in total control of the cell blocks, to the point where the Subcommittee was unable to inspect the prison conditions without being guided by a gang leader. In other cases, the power of different gangs is less 10 GE.18-12640