Measuring Pre-trial Detention in Africa
April 25-26, 2013, Bogotá, ColombiaJean RedpathPromoting Pre-trial Justice in AfricaCivil Society Prison Reform Initiative (CSPRI)Community Law Centre, University of the Western Cape 1
Number of persons held pre-trial in prison at month end, South Africa, 1995-2005
1995/01 1995/10 1996/07 1997/04 1998/01 1998/10 1999/07 2000/04 2001/01 2001/10 2002/07 2003/04 2004/01 2004/10 2005/070
10000
20000
30000
40000
50000
60000
70000
Number of awaiting trial detainees as at end of month
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Proportion of persons in prison held pre-trial at month end, South Africa, 1995-2005
1995/01 1995/10 1996/07 1997/04 1998/01 1998/10 1999/07 2000/04 2001/01 2001/10 2002/07 2003/04 2004/01 2004/10 2005/070%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
Percentage in prison held pre-trial as at end of month
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Pre-trial imprisonment rates • Pre-trial imprisonment rates are used to show the rate of
incarceration of the total population and thus gives a measure of the propensity of the state to incarcerate pre-trial.
• These can be misleading particularly in Africa where many people are held pre-trial in non-prison places of detention for extended time periods .
• This is a “snapshot” measure which uses the number in pre-trial detention as at a particular date.
• Does not indicate duration of detention. • Most useful for comparing countries. • NOTE: it may be preferable to use adult populations rather
than total populations 4
African regional pre-trial detention rates
5Rate of pre-trial detention per 100 000 population
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
20
35
57
6466
West AfricaNorth Africa Central Africa East Africa Southern Africa
Duration of pre-trial detention • Measuring the average (mean) or median length of pre-trial
detention is fraught with difficulty in Africa, mostly due to problems with consistent recording of information on dates of releases.
• In South Africa the Department of Correctional Services publishes the proportion of people held in prison for various time periods 0-3 months, 3-6 months, 6-12 months, etc. as at a particular date, usually 31 March of the year under consideration.
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Number of pre-trial detainees held for various durations, South Africa, 31 March 2012
0
5000
10000
15000
20000
25000
22805
8441
4274
2711 22631605
962 8201642
580 169 79
less than 3 months 3-6 months6-9 months9-12 months12-15 months15-18 months18-21 months21-24 months2-3 years3-4 years4-5 yearsmore than 5 years
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PROBLEM • None of the measures above capture the kind of pre-trial
detention which is increasingly prevalent in Africa, which is a form of detention without trial
• I.e. Arbitrary or political arrests leading to relatively “short” periods of pre-trial detention often followed by release without trial ever occurring. • In Zimbabwe “human rights defenders” and the political opposition
are harassed and their work disrupted by targeted periods of incarceration
• In South Africa changes to bail law mean that for many, bail applications will only be heard more than two weeks after arrest, meaning most spend at least 2 weeks pre-trial. Half of all cases end in withdrawal.
• In many African countries political control is exerted through the criminal justice system
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Pre-trial detention “Exposure” as an appropriate pre-trial detention indicator for Africa • This can be used as n alternative measure where:• The total number of pre-trial detainees is known at defined
periods e.g. at the end of each quarter. • The total admissions to pre-trial detention during those defined
periods e.g. per quarter are known. • The total population of the country is known.
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Quarterly exposure number • The “Quarterly exposure number” is simply:• The total in pre-trial custody at the beginning of the quarter plus
pre-trial admissions during the quarter
• E.g. in Malawi typical numbers might be for Quarter 1:• 29000 in pre-trial detention as at 1 January • 10 000 admitted 1 January to 31 March
• Quarterly exposure = (29 000 in pre-trial + 10 000 admissions) • = 39 000 exposed to pre-trial detention
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Total in custody at beginning of
quarter
New admissions
during quarter
Quarterly exposure rate • Rate = Quarterly exposure number/population • E.g. in Malawi total population is 14 million• Exposure number is 39 000 • Quarterly exposure rate 278 per 100 000 total population
exposed to pre-trial detention • If one uses adult population (6 million) • Quarterly exposure rate = 650 per 100 000 adult population • OR 6,5 per 1 000 adults • If one uses adult male population (3 million) • Just over 1 in every 100 adult males exposed to pre-trial detention
per quarter
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Change in exposure number • Change = Quarter 2 - Quarter 1• Quarter 2 – Quarter 1 • = (Q2Number_ptd _beg + Q2admissions) –
(Q1Number in ptd_beg + Q1admissions)• = ([(Q1Number_ptd + Q1admissions - Q1releases) + Q2
admissions] - [Q1Number_ptd + Q1admissions] ) • = Q2 admissions - Q1 releases • An increase in exposure number can mean either an increase in
the number of people held for more than three months OR more people being admitted to pre-trial detention
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