A/HRC/42/20 better treatment of detainees and increase the security of such environments.189 Adequate staff training and resources are necessary for effective oversight and accountability, which in turn ensures that the law is properly implemented.190 Adequate resources also promote better institutional cultures. IV. Conclusions and recommendations 62. Violence is prevalent in situations of deprivation of liberty and mortality rates of persons deprived of liberty are often much higher than the general population. This is the result not only of vertical and horizontal violence but also due to environmental causes, such as conditions of detention and inadequate access to health care. 63. Lack of accountability for serious injury and death in detention remains a concern both with regard to the individual accountability of the perpetrators of the illtreatment and violence, and the institutional accountability for creating conditions conducive to violence, death and serious injury or for failing to take measures to address them. 64. The interpretation and conclusions of human rights mechanisms, such as general comment No. 36 of the Human Rights Committee, offer valuable guidance to States. Expert and practitioner-led initiatives, such as the development of guidance on non-coercive interviewing methods and procedural safeguards and the updating of the Istanbul Protocol on effective investigation and documentation of torture also assist States to comply with their heightened duty of care to protect the lives and bodily integrity of persons deprived of their liberty. 65. States should, in addition to exploring the possibility of implementing some of the good practices mentioned throughout the present report, consider the following recommendations: (a) Adopt measures to address overcrowding by reducing recourse to incarceration, including by resorting to pretrial detention as a last resort; developing and implementing alternatives to custodial measures during pretrial detention and after conviction; and reviewing penal policies and legislation to ensure that sentencing is proportionate. States should, in this regard, analyse the impact of life sentences without parole on overcrowding; (b) Guarantee access to health care that is tailored to the individual needs of detainees and ensure that the care available to them is at least equivalent to that available in the community; (c) Ensure good and safe working conditions for staff and assess the adequacy of prison staffing to ensure sufficient prisoner-staff ratios; (d) Take measures to reassert responsible control over prisons and prison populations in situations in which they are de facto managed by prisoners; (e) Collect, compile and analyse data about the use of force, violence, death and serious injury in detention, disaggregated by age, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, cause of death and type of offence the victim was accused or found guilty of; (f) Analyse the causes of inter-prisoner violence with a view to develop strategies to address it; (g) Ensure that all cases of death and serious injury in custody are reported and investigated by an independent body. In cases of death, in which the preliminary investigation reveals that the cause of death was homicide or negligence, or in cases in 189 190 Submission of Penal Reform International; CAT/C/BIH/CO/6; CAT/C/LTU/CO/3. Submission of the Castan Centre for Human Rights Law. 17