- The global share of unsentenced detainees has remained stable since 2000 – ranging between 29% and 31% of the global prison population. According to the World Pre-Trial/Remand Imprisonment List (4th edition) by the Institute for Criminal Policy Research there are well over three million held in pre-trial detention and other forms of remand imprisonment throughout the world.
- There has been a 30% rise of pre-trial detainees globally since the year 2000. Every continent has seen a rise except for in Europe which has remained relatively stable (and fallen greatly in Russia). Excluding the number of pre-trial detainees in Rwanda (linked to the genocide) the proportion of people awaiting trial in African prisons has risen by 27% since 2000, with rises over this same period constituting 71% in Americas and 225% in Oceania.
- Pre-trial detention rates vary hugely within regions. The length of pre-trial detention also varies greatly. In 2014, detainees were held an average of approximately four months in the 27 Council of Europe countries, compared to a reported average of three years in Nigeria.
- Over the course of a year, nearly 15 million people pass through pre-trial detention globally, which means that a large number of people are marked by the experience of imprisonment at some point in their life. The numbers of suspects and defendants held in pre-trial detention are estimated to be around 3.3 million people on any given day.
- Prison overcrowding, in large part fuelled by high rates of pre-trial detention, can have a damaging impact on detainees’ physical and mental health. Some prisons are unsanitary and unhealthy and prisoners have little or no privacy, access to fresh air, exercise, adequate sanitation facilities, healthcare or sufficient food. Diseases spread easily in such conditions and the chances of catching COVID-19, TB, hepatitis C and HIV/AIDS are much increased by detention.
- During the pandemic, some countries have targeted pre-trial populations in COVID-19 release mechanisms. However, arrests of those violating COVID-19 related restrictions have contributed to a rise in pre-trial detention.
- Most developing countries have a shortage of trained lawyers, with just one lawyer per 50,000 people in some places. Without legal assistance, the chance of getting a fair trial is severely diminished. Time passes, witnesses disappear and evidence goes stale. The pressure to plead guilty increases as people want to end the uncertainty and bring the case to a conclusion.
- Pre-trial detention is expensive compared with non-custodial alternatives. In the United States, the cost of pre-trial detention is almost USD$13.6 billion per year.
- For the family left behind, the consequences of detention are also serious. They may have lost the main earner or caretaker in the family. This can lead to the break-up of the family, as well as loss of livelihood and home.
- Under international law, detention on remand is only permissible if several – cumulative – preconditions are met. Besides a reasonable suspicion of the individual having committed an offence, pre-trial detention must be reasonably necessary to prevent another offence, someone escaping from justice or interference with the course of justice. Less intrusive measures have to take precedence over detention. Pre-trial detention should only be applied for the shortest possible time and suspects are entitled to a trial ‘within a reasonable time’.
- A key set of international standards, the UN Standard Minimum Rules for Non-custodial Measures (the ‘Tokyo Rules’) also encourage criminal justice systems to provide a wide range of non-custodial measures to avoid unnecessary use of imprisonment. The UN Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders (‘the Bangkok Rules’) supplement these Rules and provide guidance on its application to women offenders.
- The key importance of access to legal representation, including to facilitate the use of non-custodial measures, has been acknowledged by the adoption of the UN Principles and Guidelines on Access to Legal Aid in Criminal Justice Systems, adopted by the UN General Assembly in December 2012.