PRACTICAL RECOMMENDATIONS ■ The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment recommends that the basic standard for prison cell space, for both males and females, should be not less than 6 square metres per prisoner. ■ The European Committee generally considers large-scale dormitory accommodations unsatisfactory in prisons, whether overcrowded or not. Nevertheless the Committee has found that rooms of 21 square metres are acceptable for five prisoners, that rooms of 25 square meters should accommodate no more than six prisoners and that rooms of 35 and 60 square metres are suitable for no more than seven and 12 people, respectively. ■ Where accommodation is overcrowded and does not meet the international standards, staff can make arrangements to reduce the time prisoners spend in their cells or dormitories. ■ Corridors or landings can be used for group activities with prisoners being allowed out in rotation. ■ Care should be taken when selecting prisoners for shared accommodation in the interests of health, safety and security. ■ The European Committee recommends that all prisoner accommodation should have access to natural light and that prisoners should have some control over lighting and ventilation: light switches should be inside cells and prisoners should be able to open and close windows and shutters. TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION If there are large numbers of daily admissions and releases at a prison, how can prison staff ensure that prisoners allocated to dormitories are "carefully selected", as required by the international instruments? What problems are likely to arise if there is no careful selection? What practical steps can prison staff take to allow prisoners in overcrowded accommodation to spend more time out of their cells? Discuss the obligation on senior prison administrators to bring levels of overcrowding to the attention of the relevant authorities. In some cultures, holding prisoners in single cells is regarded as a form of punishment. What special considerations apply when prisoners are held in communal cells? CASE STUDIES 1. Your prison has 50 per cent overcrowding. Prisoners are confined to their living accommodation for 23 hours each day. They are allowed out only for one hour to exercise in the open air. How can you make arrangements for them to be out of their cells for longer and to take part in useful activities? 2. Consider the situation where a room is big enough to hold 20 prisoners decently. Forty-two beds bunked in tiers of three have been placed in the room. Seventy-five people are now kept in this room. The international instruments are clear that there are no circumstances in which this degree of overcrowding can be considered acceptable. What is the prison director to do? 51