1. Prisons and preventive detention Overview of recommendations made in the summary report of 2016 In 2016, we presented to the Ministry of Justice and the General Directorate of the Prison Service of the Czech Republic, together with our report on visits to prisons, a number of recommendations to improve the unsatisfactory situation in the visited prisons.  Report on visits to prisons Ministry of Justice  Draw up a strategy changing the penal policy in the way of reducing the numbers of convicted persons, using elements of restorative justice. The Minister established a Committee tasked to permanently strive to reduce the numbers of imprisoned persons. The total use of the prison capacity in September 2017 reached 106%, and in the case of the (then) standard security prisons, 119%. Since a change was made in the types of prisons, no data on prison overcrowding are available and the situation is unclear.  Increase the prisoners’ remuneration for work.  Propose a change to the statutory definition of “permanently unemployable convicts” so as to reflect pri marily the medical condition of the convicts, rather than the possibility of their employment. Special treatment is required by law for this category of convicts. However, its definition is too broad (also including pensioners and handicapped persons), which in fact prevents suitable modifications based on the type of health impairment. The Ministry perceives the need for a greater differentiation; in the future, this category should only comprise persons with health issues. No actual change has occurred yet.  Pay due attention to convicts with mental illness in implementing the prisons strategy. The prison staff are at a loss when dealing with certain convicts, who are then effectively isolated. Due to the lacking suitable adjustments to the regime, the Defender noted two cases of ill-treatment in 2016. No actual systemic change has been made so far.  Familiarise the courts’ presidents with the fact that disciplinary punishments and rewards are used less frequently so as to ensure that this is not to the detriment of the prisoners when deciding on parole. General Directorate of the Prison Service of the Czech Republic  Enable direct legal representation of prisoners in each phase of disciplinary proceedings.  Ensure that the real number of convicts per educator in each prison section does not generally exceed the number of 20. Reconsider the educators’ job description so as to reduce red tape.  Aim at accommodating convicts in single-occupancy cells or double cells when restoring existing accommo dation facilities and/or building new ones. The current capacity issues paralyse any attempts at improving the accommodation standard.  Unify the rules for determining which work for the prison is subject to remuneration for a prisoner and which is not. The Prison Service issued an internal regulation which no longer permits any differences.  Ensure that prison doctors can use the services of a professional interpreter. 12