-53 to issues raised by prisoners, but also to those topics prisoners avoid talking about. Very sensitive issues should be addressed in individual talks. NPMs must be mindful of the principle of ‘do no harm”, in order not to further jeopardize the safety of the prisoners. Research has found that a key performance indicator is that prisoners feel safe and secure.95 In interviews, NPMs may find out more about the individual safety of prisoners (and the feeling of order as well as the absence of abuse and violence) but also about job satisfaction, challenges and good practices of staff. Thus, it is important that NPMs include the perception of safety of prisoners and staff in their monitoring (see also below § 5.1). Innovative methods, developed through systemic thinking and research, can be very useful tools for NPMs to more effectively gather information from prisoners and staff and to find out more not only about the challenges and about ‘what works’ in prisons but also about stakeholder perceptions of safety in prison. To this end, two methods are of particular relevance: 1. Systemic questions are a tool of systemic thinking that could be used by NPMs to efficiently interview prisoners and staff, as well as to better understand connections and relationships within the system ‘prison’. There are various types of questions, such as scaling, circular or hypothetical questions (see also below § 5; and in this series the Dossier § 3.3).96 2. The appreciative inquiry is a method designed to identify ‘what matters” to staff and prisoners, to explore the ‘positive resources, experiences and imaginations of staff and prisoners’, their relationships and these factors’ overall effect on the quality of life and safety in prisons.97 It concentrates on strengths and 95. Liebling, Prisons, 302. 96. Systemic questions are derived from the field of family therapy and are also used in the SolutionFocused Therapy. See also Stefan Hölscher, Systemic Questions (2000) <https://metrionconsulting. de/site/assets/files/1198/metrion_article_20000115_systemic_questions.pdf>; Stefan Hölscher, ‘Questions’ (2006) in Stefan Hölscher and others (eds), The Art of Joined Action. Professional Handling of Social Processes (Springer Verlag 2006). 97. Appreciative inquiry is a model that seeks to engage stakeholders in self-determined change developed by David Cooperrider and Suresh Srivastva at Case Western Reserve University’s department of organizational behaviour. The authors felt that the overuse of problem solving hampered any kind of social improvement, and what was needed were new methods of inquiry that would help generate new ideas and models for how to organize: David L. Cooperride and Suresh Srivastva, ‘Appreciative Inquiry in Organizational Life’ in Richard W. Woodman, William A. Pasmore (eds) Research in Organizational Change and Development (JAI Press Incorporated 1987) 129–169. Monitoring Prison Violence