PRE-DEPORTATION DETENTION FACILITIES into looking after the detainees awaiting deportation, cannot compensate for the loss of this position. The other social worker is responsible for the entire prison. According to her, she only has a small amount of time she can allocate to detainees awaiting deportation. The social worker and the chaplain feel that detainees awaiting deportation urgently need regular advice and meetings in order to be able to deal with the specific problems encountered in custody pending deportation. In the opinion of the detainees awaiting deportation, the conditions of detention in Bützow Prison mean that they cannot engage in any sensible activities apart from one hour of yard exercise per day and a little sports, and that they spend most of the day either sitting in their rooms or standing in the corridor doing nothing. In view of this situation the Joint Committee recommends hiring an additional at least part-time social worker in the Pre-Deportation Detention Wing who is available to talk to detainees, who is aware of the specific problems associated with custody pending deportation and can provide assistance. Further, the range of recreational activities on offer should be extended. Response: In order to improve the level of support available, Bützow Prison will be employing a social worker in the Pre-Deportation Detention Wing from February 2014. Her actual hours will be based on the needs of the detainees awaiting deportation. The Pre-Deportation Detention Wing also has a room which is fitted with a CCTV camera. According to the head of the institution, it is used to accommodate those who are suicidal as well as for solidary confinement, which can sometimes be ordered for several months. The CCTV camera is always switched on when the room is occupied. The fixtures and furnishings in the room fitted with a CCTV camera are not suitable for those who are at acute risk of committing suicide. The pipes above the sanitary facilities protrude from the wall and thus increase the risk of suicide significantly. The Joint Commission holds the opinion that those at acute risk of committing suicide should always be placed in a specially secured room containing no dangerous objects. Further, it is not clear why those who have been placed in solitary confinement need to be constantly monitored by CCTV camera. Certain clearly defined conditions must be met before a detainee can be monitored by CCTV camera and this measure must be necessary in the individual case. The mere ordering of solitary confinement does not justify video surveillance of the detained person on a regular basis. Further, the National Agency is of the opinion that measures must be taken to protect detainees’ privacy. Human dignity demands that where video surveillance of a detention room, including the toilet, is conducted the detainee’s genital area must be pixellated on the screen. Unrestricted monitoring of the detention room can at most be considered based on a carefully weighed up, well-founded and documented decision in an individual case where there is an acute risk of suicide or self-harm. Where such visual surveillance is conducted by CCTV or through a peephole, those concerned must be informed of that fact or it must be clear to them that such surveillance is being carried out. Response: Persons who are at acute risk of committing suicide are not placed in a room fitted with a CCTV camera, but in a specially secured room containing no dangerous objects. The room on the top floor which is fitted with a CCTV camera is primarily used to accommodate detainees with mental health issues and violence issues or health issues and who were admitted to the facility at an inopportune moment. In accordance with the principle of proportionality, the facility only requires such placement to the extent and as far as necessary to serve its purpose. The supervisory authority agrees with the National Agency that the ordering of solitary confinement does not necessarily justify any monitoring by technical means and that it is only permissible where specific conditions are met. Bützow Prison will in future pay closer attention to this issue. A sign (pictogramme) indicating the presence of video surveillance equipment will be affixed in front of or in this room to make it easier for detainees awaiting deportation to recognise that surveillance by visual means is being carried out. At the same time those placed in this area will be informed when video surveillance is in operation. Detainees awaiting deportation should be able to have the lawfulness of the custody pending deportation order issued against them subject to legal review. To that end they first need to be given comprehensive information about available legal remedies, and that information must be provided in a language they can readily understand. Since those affected are usually not familiar with the German legal system and may have great difficulty, for example, making contact with non-governmental organisations or with lawyers while in the detention facility, they are especially reliant on help in asserting their rights. This support can, for instance, be provided by a social worker who has the necessary expertise in this area. Ingelheim Detention Centre for Persons Required to Leave the Country serves as a positive example; it has its own advice centre. The Joint Commission regards the legal counselling provided in the Pre-Deportation Detention Wing in Büren Prison in North RhineWestphalia and in Eisenhüttenstadt Pre-Deportation 58