MONITORING PLACES OF DETENTION : A PRACTICAL GUIDE 83 Security considerations Restrictions proposed by staff for reasons of the personal security of visitors should be carefully considered, but it is ultimately the responsibility of the visiting team to decide whether they follow them or not. The mechanism should agree its conditions in advance. Conducting the interview One or two visitors can take part in the talk, one leading the discussion and the other taking notes. While this might seem overpowering to the person deprived of liberty, it has the advantage of enabling the person leading the talk to concentrate better; it should, however, be cleared with the detained person. It is important to gain the confidence of the detainee. At the beginning of the interview, visitors should introduce themselves, explain clearly the reason for their presence, what they can and cannot do, and the confidential nature of the interview. Visitors should be prepared to be patient. For any number of reasons – experience or emotional state, prolonged deprivation of liberty leading to loss of the notion of time, memory blackouts, obsessive thoughts, etc. – the way people deprived of their liberty express themselves can be rather confused. The talks in private must be managed in such a way as to obtain the necessary information, respect the detainee’s needs and make good use of the time available. It is important to strike a balance between: ■ the visitor’s need to gather the information necessary to assess the conditions of detention and the detainees’ need to express their preoccupations. Anything resembling an interrogation should be avoided at all costs; ■ an attitude of empathy toward the person and the emotional distance needed for the visitor to carry