A/HRC/33/15 8. The Police Complaints Authority of Trinidad and Tobago offered a safe, independent environment in which complaints could be lodged and investigated. That service was offered free of charge as an accessible mechanism for members of the public to submit complaints against police officers and with a view to curbing the use of unnecessary force by the police service in the conduct of their work. 9. The Trinidad and Tobago Police Service had also implemented the “Policing for People Initiative” to provide officers with the training required to improve the quality of policing. The aim was to change the culture of the police service with regard to its interaction with the public in order to form a closer alliance between the two, with the concomitant effect of greater cooperation in the fight against crime. 10. The delegation of Trinidad and Tobago indicated that the death penalty was only applicable for murder and treason and that before such a penalty was applied, due process — involving several safeguards — was carefully observed. Those safeguards included: the commutation of death sentences not carried out within five years; appeals before the Court of Appeal and to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, which was the final court of appeal; and the right of a prisoner to apply to the Advisory Committee on the Power of Pardon by virtue of section 89 of the Constitution. 11. Various policy mechanisms were also in place to protect and promote the rights of prisoners. The Penal Reform and Transformation Unit had been established in 2002 to review the penal system. Since then, further reforms had been implemented to achieve a more restorative system of justice. The Trinidad and Tobago Prison Service was guided by the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners. Strategies had also been adopted to meet the needs of imprisoned women, to ensure that the mother-child relationship was maintained and to address women’s health needs, especially those related to pregnancy, and revenue earning. Inmates were able to benefit from the rehabilitation system, which included religious or spiritual programmes for all faiths, psychological and medical services, cognitive/moral programmes on leadership, conflict resolution, drug rehabilitation, counselling, adolescent development, self-esteem and anger management, social/sporting programmes and educational programmes, ranging from academic to vocational, some of which were hosted by the prison service. 12. The Ministry of National Security had embarked on the introduction and implementation of an offender management system. The system sought to establish a seamless process for offenders, from the point of arrest through to the point of release. At its core was the delivery of a set of interventions, sequenced and tailored to respond to the risks relating to and the needs of the individual offender. 13. In the light of the recommendation, accepted during the previous cycle of the universal periodic review, that the State should improve living conditions in prisons and detention centres, the Prison Service Act, 1965, had been amended by the Miscellaneous Provisions (Prisons) Act, 2014, along with the Prison Rules, to provide for, among other things, the removal of an Inspector of Prisons, the creation of an Inspectorate of Prisons and the establishment of an Appeal Tribunal for cases involving disciplinary action against prisoners. The Inspectorate was charged with the function of inspecting and reporting on conditions in prisons and industrial institutions and following up on the treatment of prisoners, prisoner complaints and programmes, facilities, services and opportunities available to promote the rehabilitation of prisoners and young offenders. 14. Trinidad and Tobago had sought to implement the recommendation it had accepted during the first cycle of the universal periodic review to reduce the case backlog and address the inefficiencies in the judicial system that contributed to lengthy pretrial detentions and exacerbated difficult prison conditions. In September 2015, the Chief Justice of Trinidad and Tobago had announced the approval of criminal case management rules 4