CAT/OP/PAN/1 concentrated and can be hard to distinguish from that of religious groups. Self-rule by gangs and corruption increase the risk that persons deprived of their liberty will be subjected to exploitation, ill-treatment, torture and other abuses, while the perpetrators are very likely to go unpunished. The Subcommittee noted that there was a climate of fear in the prisons ruled by inmates. The Subcommittee also received information about firearms (and drugs) being brought into the prisons. 72. The Subcommittee noted as well that this situation prevents the separation of convicted prisoners from untried prisoners, which is a violation of rule 11 of the Nelson Mandela Rules, and precludes the replacement of older detention facilities with modern ones, as such a change would lead to the breakdown of the power-sharing model. 73. The Subcommittee recommends that the State party expedite implementation of the Prison Service Act and ensure that there are enough qualified prison staff to manage the prisons appropriately. 74. The Subcommittee is of the view that the delegation of authority and inmate self-rule increase the risk that persons deprived of their liberty will be subjected to torture and ill-treatment and urges the State party to take the steps necessary to regain control of its prisons. D. Long-term pretrial detention 75. The Subcommittee welcomes the promulgation of Act No. 4 of 17 February 2017 on amendments to the Judicial Code, the Criminal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure, measures to prevent prison overcrowding and other provisions, which makes it possible, among other things, to commute the sentences of convicted persons who participate in instructional or work programmes during pretrial detention. 76. However, the Subcommittee noted that there were serious delays in the completion of criminal proceedings and that pretrial detention was overused and lasted too long. Official information indicates that there are persons in pretrial detention under the rules of the inquisitorial system and that pretrial detention for long periods of time is very common (2,759 persons have been in pretrial detention for more than three years, 6,760 for more than one year and 393 for less than one year). In the adversarial criminal justice system now operating in the country, conversely, persons held for less than one year make up the bulk of those in pretrial detention (8 persons have been held in pretrial detention for more than three years, 328 for more than one year and 1,200 for less than one year). Of the country’s total prison population of 16,104 inmates, 8,681, or 54 per cent, are persons in pretrial detention. In addition, the Subcommittee noted that, in the Nueva Esperanza rehabilitation centre in Colón, there was a man who, at the time of the Subcommittee’s visit, had been in pretrial detention for eight years. 77. As it has done in respect of overcrowding in detention facilities, the Subcommittee recommends that the State party promote non-custodial penalties, in line with the Tokyo Rules, and step up its efforts to reduce the use of pretrial detention. E. Searches 78. The Subcommittee received numerous reports from detainees and their family members that, notwithstanding the assertions to the contrary made by prison superintendents, people wishing to enter a place of detention are subjected to degrading searches during which they are forced to strip and assume humiliating positions, a practice that discourages family visits. 79. The Subcommittee calls on the State party to comply with international standards by putting an immediate end to this practice, which is an affront to a person’s dignity. The Subcommittee recommends that the State party ensure that search and entry procedures for visitors are not degrading and are governed by GE.18-12640 11