- 11 9. At the end of the visit to Greece, the CPT's delegation gave a summary oral account of its visit to the Minister of Justice and to senior officials of the Ministries concerned. Immediate observations were made on certain issues concerning police and prison establishments visited, pursuant to Article 8, paragraph 5, of the Convention. These issues will be considered in detail later in this report. However, the CPT would like at this point to draw attention to the constructive spirit in which the Greek authorities took note of, and subsequently reacted to, the above-mentioned observations. By letter of 21 May 1993, the Greek authorities indicated that measures had already been set in motion in response to the delegation's concerns on some points, and two reports setting out in detail the action undertaken were subsequently forwarded on 24 September and 14 October 1993. 10. In conclusion, the CPT welcomes the general spirit of cooperation which marked its delegation's visit to Greece and the follow-up to the visit. E. Context of the CPT's visit 11. It should be recorded that the Greek authorities stated openly to the CPT's delegation, at the very outset of its visit, that their country was currently facing extremely serious problems which affected areas covered by the CPT's mandate. Political events meant that in recent times there had been a massive inflow of illegal immigrants, especially from countries to the north of Greece, and there was to date little sign of any easing of this predicament. At the same time, there had been an alarming increase in the crime rate during the last few years, in particular as regards crimes of an organised nature. Unfortunately, in view of the need for economic restraint, there had been some delay in taking all the measures necessary to deal with these phenomena, with the result that both the police force and prison service were presently experiencing great difficulties in performing their tasks. The delegation's observations in the course of its visit bore witness to the accuracy of the above account. 12. As regards psychiatric institutions, it is noteworthy that a law of 15 July 1992 on the modernisation and organisation of the health system provided for important changes to the system of health, including in the area of mental health. However, at the time of the CPT's visit, the implementation of that law was still far from completed. This reform goes hand in hand with the initiatives taken within the framework of the European Community since 1984, through the subsidised programmes in the field of psychiatric care. Priority was presently being given to the discharge of chronic patients from psychiatric hospitals and the setting up of halfway houses.