CAT/C/ZAF/CO/2 Conditions of detention 16. The Committee is concerned about poor conditions of detention in places of deprivation of liberty, including overcrowding, poor materials, dilapidated infrastructure and sanitary facilities, inadequate food, poor ventilation, limited access to health and medical services, lack of exercise, and inadequate working conditions for prison staff due to the overcrowding. It is also concerned about the regime in super-maximum security prisons, where prisoners are locked in their cells for 23 hours per day for a minimum of six months (art. 11). 17. The State party should: (a) Take all measures necessary to improve conditions of detention, in particular with regard to overcrowding, by substantially reducing the number of persons held in pretrial detention, loosening bail requirements, reviewing the use of arrest quotas as indicators of police performance, introducing mandatory minimum sentencing, substantially reducing the number of persons sentenced to life imprisonment, reducing the sluggish pace of the parole process, providing for restorative justice and actively promoting alternatives to detention in keeping with the Tokyo Rules; (b) Ensure that persons deprived of their liberty are treated humanely in all places of detention, including super-maximum security prisons and those run by private contractors, in keeping with the Nelson Mandela Rules; (c) Improve the material conditions in places of deprivation of liberty, including sanitary and hygiene conditions, ventilation, food and access to health and medical services and proper exercise; repair dilapidated detention facilities and, if required, build new ones, in order to bring them into line with the Nelson Mandela Rules; (d) Organize the health-care services provided to detainees in close liaison with the general public health system, on the basis of the principle of access for all detainees to health care of the same quality as that available to the public, increase the number of medical personnel and ensure the provision of adequate mental health care; (e) Ensure adequate working conditions for prison staff. Prisoners serving life sentences 18. The Committee is gravely concerned at the inordinately high number of prisoners serving life sentences, which grew by 818 per cent between 2000 and 2014, and the increasing reliance on life sentences in the State party, which contributes considerably to overcrowding in prisons. It is also concerned about the State party’s explanation that setting minimum sentences for offences would give rise to an increase in the number of prisoners, including those serving life sentences (arts. 2, 4, 11–14 and 16). 19. The State party should: (a) Provide specific information on and statistics relating to the reasons why inmates are serving life sentences, including their previous offence profiles; (b) Consider revising legislation in order to introduce a gradation of sentencing in accordance with the gravity of the offence; (c) Implement reforms in legislation regarding eligibility criteria for parole; abolish life sentences without parole; ensure that minors cannot be punished with life sentences; speed up parole proceedings; and harmonize conditions for parole, maintaining those that are most favourable to the prisoners. Segregation and mechanical restraints 20. While taking into account the explanations provided by the delegation of the State party, the Committee is concerned that the conditions under which detained persons are placed in segregation constitute de facto solitary confinement, albeit while being used for a range of purposes. It is also concerned that amenities for persons placed in segregation can 5