MONITORING PLACES OF DETENTION : A PRACTICAL GUIDE 1 104 through a general statement. The following are examples of such practices: ■ systematically ignoring a request until it is repeated several times; ■ speaking to persons deprived of their liberty as if they were small children; ■ never looking detainees directly in the eyes; ■ entering detainees’ cells suddenly and without reason; ■ creating a climate of suspicion among the detainees; ■ authorising departures from the regulations one day and punishing them the next, etc. Inter-prisoner violence Visitors should remember that the staff duty of care includes the responsibility to protect detainees from other prisoners. Acts of violence committed by fellow detainees should not be ignored – for example: hitting and injuring, rape, and other sadistic behaviour. This type of violence is often not reported by the victims for fear of reprisals. It may be tolerated by the staff, who may consider that it is “the detainees’ own business” and look the other way rather than make enemies among precisely those detainees who are most capable of causing trouble. Visitors need to create a climate and circumstances in which weaker prisoners feel they can approach them with their concerns. Visitors should be aware of the possibilities available to staff for limiting violence between detainees and monitor the extent to which such possibilities are being utilised: ■ separation of different categories of detainees; ■ careful choice of detainees who share living quarters; ■ an easily accessible and confidential complaints system; ■ sufficient numbers of trained staff;