How could NPMs handle expectations regarding complaints?

It is very important for NPMs to clarify their preventive mandate as to avoid creating false expectations about their work. They can do so in a number of ways such as: during interviews with persons deprived of liberty; during meetings with the authorities; on their institutional website; in their annual reports; in their information material (brochures, videos).
Interviews with persons deprived of liberty are the cornerstone of almost any visit to a place of detention and they require careful thought and handling. NPMs should therefore pay particular attention to explain their mandate at the start of each interview in a very clear and simple way, to avoid creating the impression that the person’s individual situation is going to be handled and improve as a result of the NPM’s visit. Clarity about the aim of the interview is also key to create a relationship of trust and credibility with the person to be interviewed.
On closing the interview, NPMs should make sure that persons deprived of their liberty are left with the impression to have made a contribution to the NPM’s work aimed at improving the treatment and conditions of detention in general.