- 37 83. As regards Malandrino Prison, which accommodates mainly prisoners serving long sentences, it should be noted that long-term imprisonment is widely considered to have a number of desocialising effects upon inmates. In addition to becoming "institutionalised", such prisoners may experience a range of psychological problems (including loss of self-esteem and impairment of social skills) and have a tendency to become increasingly detached from the world into which they will almost certainly eventually be released. In the view of the CPT, the regimes which are offered to prisoners serving long sentences should seek to compensate for these effects in a positive and proactive way. Prisoners serving lengthy sentences (including life sentences) should have access to a wide range of purposeful activities of a varied nature (work, preferably with vocational value; education; sport; recreation/association). Moreover, they should be able to exercise a degree of choice over the manner in which their time is spent, thus fostering a sense of autonomy and personal responsibility. Additional steps should be taken to lend meaning to their period of imprisonment; in particular, the provision of individualised custody plans and appropriate psychosocial support are important elements in assisting such prisoners to come to terms with their period of incarceration and, in due course, to prepare for release. Further, the negative effects of institutionalisation upon prisoners serving long sentences will be less pronounced, and they will be better equipped for release, if they are able effectively to maintain contact with the outside world. Given the facilities available and the absence of overcrowding, Malandrino Prison is in a privileged position as compared to other establishments visited. It would be unacceptable not to use its potential for offering a proper regime to prisoners. The CPT recommends that immediate steps be taken to develop a suitable programme of activities for inmates serving long sentences at Malandrino, taking into account the criteria identified above. Furthermore, the CPT recommends that the situation of long-term prisoners in all prison establishments be reviewed, in the light of the above remarks. 84. Finally, the CPT was concerned to learn that some prisoners serving long sentences for particularly serious offences were not allowed to work. It emerged that the objective was to prevent them from earning remission and, eventually, benefiting from early release, because this might cause social disquiet. The Committee considers such an approach to be misguided; it recommends that it be reassessed.