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Info Service on UN Sustainable Development (Jul21/13) Geneva, 19 Jul (Kanaga Raja) – An estimated 11.7 million persons were detained in prisons across the world in 2019, a population comparable in size to entire nations such as Bolivia, Burundi, Belgium, or Tunisia, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has said. In its first global research on prisons, UNODC said that most persons detained in prison globally are men (93%) but over the last 20 years, the number of women in prisons has increased at a faster pace (33% increase) than men (25% increase). The research brief also found that one in every three prisoners worldwide is being held without having been found guilty by a court of justice. While the retention of alleged offenders should be a measure of last resort, many prisoners are detained without a sentence, it said. The global share of un-sentenced detainees in the prison population has not changed much in the past 20 years, ranging between 29% and 31%, suggesting that little global progress has been made in achieving UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16.3 on access to justice, it added. GLOBAL TRENDS IN PRISON POPULATION In its research brief, UNODC has estimated that approximately 11.7 million people were detained globally in 2019. The current estimate represents an increase of more than 25% from the year 2000, when there were around 9.3 million people imprisoned globally, UNODC said, adding that this trend is slightly above global population growth, recorded at 21% between 2000 and 2019. As of 2019, there were an estimated 10.9 million male prisoners and an estimated 0.8 million female prisoners globally, said UNODC. While women remain a small percentage of the prison population in most countries, the number of female prisoners has witnessed a larger rate of increase (33%) than male prisoners (25%) between 2000 and 2019, it added. UNODC said while trends in male and female prison populations generally move together, there is stronger year- on-year variability in the female trend, which is also due to the much smaller size of the female prison population. As a result of these gender-specific dynamics, the female share of the global prison population has increased, from 6.1% in 2000 to 7.2% in 2019. However, UNODC said that the increase in the female share of prisoners has not been homogenous across regions. Europe has recorded the largest increase in the female share of prisoners from 4.2% in 2000 to 6.5% in 2019 – a trend driven by a faster decline of male prisoners relative to female prisoners, primarily in the Eastern European countries. In contrast, Africa has recorded persistently low female prisoner shares of around 2.9% over the last two decades. As of 2019, there were an estimated 152 prisoners for every 100,000 population globally, said UNODC, adding that this global rate has not changed much over the last two decades where it stood at 151 prisoners (per 100,000 population) in 2000. However, UNODC said that there is considerable sub-regional variation: as of 2019, a much larger share of the population was imprisoned in Northern America (577 per 100,000 population), Latin America and the Caribbean (267 per 100,000 population) and Eastern Europe (262 per 100,000 population), than in Sub-Saharan Africa (84 per 100,000 population), Melanesia (78 per 100,000 population), or Southern Asia (48 per 100,000 population). The high male imprisonment rate in the Northern American sub-region (1,048 male prisoners per 100,000 male population) is particularly noteworthy, said UNODC. Globally, men are approximately 13 times more likely to be held in prison than women, but gender disparities are less marked in Northern America and Central Asia (where men are around 9 times more likely to be imprisoned than females) and much more marked in Northern Africa (45 times more likely) and Southern Asia (24 times more likely). Looking at trends over time, UNODC said that some sub-regions, such as Northern America, Sub-Saharan Africa and Eastern Europe, have experienced a long-term decrease in the number of prisoners relative to their populations, while other regions, such as Latin America and Australia/New Zealand, have seen growth over the last two decades. PRISON OVERCROWDING According to the research brief, prison overcrowding is widespread around the world. It said of the 100 countries and territories for which UNODC has data on both prison capacity and prison occupancy between 2014 and 2019, 47% are operating at more than 100% of intended capacity. A smaller share of countries and territories (18%) operate at more than 150% of the intended capacity, it added. International comparison of overcrowding can be complicated because there is no universal standard on the amount of prison space appropriate for each prisoner, said UNODC. “Prison capacities are determined locally. Countries that are more generous in the space allocated to each prisoner may appear to be more overcrowded than those where higher prisoner densities are accepted in determining official prison capacity,” it added. Countries in Africa and the Americas have on average high numbers of prisoners compared to their available space, but in every world region there are countries where prison capacity is insufficient, said UNODC. The problem of prison overcrowding rose in prominence recently due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it added. “COVID-19 prevention measures that are currently implemented in the community, such as physical distancing and tight hygiene protocols, are often difficult to implement in prisons, especially when they are overcrowded.” According to a global analysis of official and media sources, as of May 2021, it was estimated that nearly 550,000 prisoners in 122 countries have become infected with COVID-19, with close to 4,000 fatalities in prisons in 47 countries. In response to the pandemic, some prisons limited recreation, work opportunities, and visitation rights, all essential components of rehabilitation programmes. Some countries opted to release, at least temporarily, large numbers of people in custody, particularly remand prisoners and those convicted of non-violent offences. UNODC said since March 2020, at least 700,000 persons around the globe – or roughly 6% of the estimated global prison population – have been authorized or considered eligible for release through emergency release mechanisms adopted by 119 Member States. Even without the coronavirus pandemic, prison overcrowding has serious implications for rehabilitation, and can rise to the level of a human rights violation, especially when teamed with long remand periods, it added. It noted that according to Rule 12 of the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners: “Where sleeping accommodation is in individual cells or rooms, each prisoner shall occupy by night a cell or room by himself or herself. If for special reasons, such as temporary overcrowding, it becomes necessary for the central prison administration to make an exception to this rule, it is not desirable to have two prisoners in a cell or room.” Rule 13 states: “All accommodation provided for the use of prisoners and in particular all sleeping accommodation shall meet all requirements of health, due regard being paid to climatic conditions and particularly to cubic content of air, minimum floor space, lighting, heating and ventilation.” Many prisons, especially when overcrowded, fall short of these standards, said the UNODC research brief. It said forcing prisoners into sub-standard conditions interferes with the primary purpose of what incarceration should aim for according to Rule 4, which is “primarily to protect society against crime and to reduce recidivism”. Reducing recidivism becomes difficult when resources are stretched, UNODC added. Prison overcrowding and delays in the justice process are closely related. Many people currently incarcerated globally have not yet been convicted of any crime, it noted. The deprivation of liberty of innocent citizens represents a procedural injustice, and long periods of detention due to delays in adjudication may represent a violation of human rights, said UNODC. It noted that the global share of un-sentenced detainees in the prison population has not changed much in the past 20 years, holding true between 29% and 31% between 2000 and 2019, suggesting little global progress in achieving SDG target 16.3 to “ensure equal access to justice for all.” However, there has been substantial regional and sub-regional variation in both the share of un-sentenced prisoners in the prison population and in trends in this share over time, with some regions making substantial improvements in reducing the share of un-sentenced prisoners, while others have recorded an increase, said UNODC. As of 2019, Asia and Africa had the highest share of un-sentenced prisoners (both at 34%), while Europe had the lowest share (15%). Over the last two decades, Africa has seen the sharpest decline in the share of prisoners who are un-sentenced, from 45% in 2000 to 34% in 2019. In contrast, Oceania (including Australia and New Zealand) recorded a sharp increase over the same time period, from 20% in 2000 to 32% in 2019. The variation in the share of un-sentenced detainees is even more evident at the sub-regional level, said UNODC. For example, while in Southern Asia more than two thirds (67%) of all prisoners were un-sentenced as of 2019, in Eastern Europe, Central Asia and Polynesia, only around 10% of prisoners were un-sentenced. POLICY IMPLICATIONS According to the UNODC research brief, the following measures can contribute to curbing the excessive use of pre-trial detention and imprisonment, and alleviate the adverse consequences of prison overcrowding: * Ensuring that a wide range of alternatives to imprisonment are available and sustainable in law, policy and in practice at every stage of the criminal justice process, so as to enable individualized and proportionate sentencing in line with the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules on Non-Custodial Measures (the Tokyo Rules). * Replacing excessively punitive approaches that aim at ensuring public safety with evidence-based criminal justice policies that include a strong component on crime prevention. * Widening timely and effective access to justice, in particular for those in pre-trial detention, by, inter alia, providing access to legal aid to all those accused of a criminal offence, in line with the United Nations Principles and Guidelines on Access to Legal Aid in Criminal Justice Systems. * Addressing procedural bottlenecks in criminal justice systems, improving case management and the capacity of prosecution services and the judiciary, and reviewing criminal legislation that has been found to contribute to over-incarceration (e.g. mandatory minimum sentencing) or which criminalizes acts protected by international human rights law. Furthermore, measures can be taken to counteract the relative increase in the female prison population, including the development and implementation of gender-specific options for diversion and non-custodial measures at every stage of the criminal justice process. Such measures should take into account the history of victimization of many women offenders and their care-taking responsibilities, as well as mitigating factors, such as lack of a criminal history and the nature and severity of the offence, in line with the United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders (the Bangkok Rules), said UNODC.
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