115TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSEREPORTSTHE
COURSEREPORTSOF
OF THECOURSEGROUP 1
PRACTICAL MEASURESTO ALLEVIATE THE PROBLEM OF OVERCROWDING
Chairperson
Co-Chairperson
Rapporteur
Co-Rapporteur
Members

Advisers

Mr. Iftikhar Ahmad Rao
Mr. Zulkifli Bin Omar
Mr. Peterson Kamunyu Muhoro
Ms. Rebecca Ang Santamaria
Mr. Roy A. Murillo
Mr. Masamitsu Fujioka
Mr. Hiroshi Kubo
Mr. Naokuni Yano
Prof. Yuichiro Tachi
Prof. Hiroshi Iitsuka
Prof. Mikiko Kakihara

I. INTRODUCTION
The group was assigned to review,
analyze and discuss the problem ofovercrowding in correctional institutions
and to come up with suggestions on
considered remedial measures. We
analyzed the concept of ‘overcrowding’ andexplored issues related to it. Briefly thegroup outlined these issues as:- the official correction capacities
authorized by each country,- the available single cells verses
dormitories accommodation,- the periodical peaks and lows
experienced by correctional
institutions over a given period,- and the variations between one
prison and another caused by theapplication of allocation andclassification criteria.
Members of the group generally agreed
that overcrowding exists in correctional
institutions in many countries. They werealso of the view that overcrowding incorrectional institutions brings with it
management problems that make it
difficult to implement effective treatment
programs.

(Pakistan)(Malaysia)(Kenya)(Philippines)(Costa Rica)(Japan)(Japan)(Japan)(UNAFEI)(UNAFEI)(UNAFEI)

The group therefore adopted a three-tierapproach to deal with this topic thus;• To review the actual overcrowding
situation in each participant’s
country.
• To critically examine the possible
causes, and• To offer possible countermeasures
In discussing this topic, the members
agreed to extensively make use of :S
Individual Presentation Papers
already submitted during theplenaries.
S
Review existing materials andliterature relevant to this topic.
Consult the experience and opinionof the advisers that have been
attached to the group.
S
Lectures by the visiting experts andfaculty members.
Right from the start the group agreed toadopt a working definition of overcrowding
as a situation where the correctional
institution holds or accommodates
prisoners or offenders over and above thestatutory capacity or the conventionallyaccepted space per prisoner. Overcrowding

375

RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 57
may also be viewed from the perspective ofthe limitations it causes to effective
implementation of treatment programs.
The formula applied to calculate levelsof overcrowding is :Average Daily Population in Prison
proportional to the available capacity perhundred percent (ADP/CAPACITY (100 %)).
II. ACTUAL SITUATION OF
OVERCROWDING
A. Introduction
The participants in this group reported
varying levels of overcrowding incorrectional institutions in their respective
countries.

In brief, the level of overcrowding is as
here outlined. Japan has a population of
126 million. It is also recorded as having
the lowest number of prisoners per 100,000
population. The prison population iscurrently (-17.1%) below the available
capacity i.e. prisoners versus the available
space stands at 82.9%. On the other handin this group is a representative from
Kenya where there is 150.4% overcrowding,followed by Pakistan at 127.5%, Philippines
by 56.4%, Costa Rica at 20.4%, and Malaysia
4.8 %. The last two are noticeable for the
low levels recorded.
The following Tables reflect theovercrowding situation and the proportionof convicted and unconvicted prisoners.

TABLE ONEComparative Levels of Overcrowding in Prisons
Country

Population Prison Capacity Number of

No. of Prisoners/

In Millions

1000,000 Population Overcrowding

Prisoners

Percentage of

Costa Rica

3.6

4,296

5,173

143.7

20.4%

Japan

126.0

63.62552.71541.8(-17.1%)

Kenya

28.5

14,00035,058123.0

150.4%

Malaysia

23.0

23,88425,029

108.8

4.8%

Pakistan

126.81

34,70078,93862.2

127.5%

Philippines

68.6

45,00070,383

87.2

56.4%

Table two attempts to find out the statusof the prisoners held in custody incorrectional institutions i.e. convicted or
unconvicted. In all the countries, convictedprisoners account for more than 70% of thetotal prison population. For example Costa
Rica has 80%, Japan has 82%, Kenya has
74%, Malaysia has 71% and the Philippines
has 62%. The general trend therefore is
one where the overcrowding situation is asa result of holding more convicted offenders
376

relative to the available space. It is only inPakistan which has 22.4% of convicted
offenders.

115TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSEREPORTS OF THE COURSETABLE TWO
Comparative Levels of Convicted and Unconvicted Prisoners Relative toOvercrowding
Country
Costa Rica

No.of
Prisoners
5,173

Japan

52,715

Kenya

35,058

Malaysia

25,029Pakistan

78,938

Philippines

70,383Convicted
Prisoners
4,906
(80%)
43,464(82%)
25,974(74%)
17,676(71%)
17,697(22.4%)
43,486(62%)

B. Actual Situation of Participants’
Countries
1. Costa Rica(i) During the last few years, Costa Rica
has shown a growth in the penal
population and this phenomenon has
caused a problem of overcrowding. It
has however been fairly alleviatedbecause several new prisons wereconstructed a few years back. In
1999, the average rate ofovercrowding was 20%, but in someinstitutions the percentage reached
80%.

Unconvicted
Prisoners
1,245
(20%)
9,251
(18%)
9,084
(26%)
7,353
(29%)
61,241(77.6%)
26,897(38%)

Percentage ofOvercrowding
20.4%(-17.1%)150.4%
4.8%
127.5%
56.4%(ii) Causes
Overcrowding in Costa Rica is causedby the tendency of long term
sentences, delays in trials, and theinappropriate use of non-custodial
measures.
a. Tendency of long term sentences
The average length of a sentenceof imprisonment has been
increasing yearly. In 1999, thepercentage of convicted prisoners
who have been sentenced forPopula- Penal Number Number of Number of Prison No. of Penal No. of Percentage
Population/ Capacity/ofYear tion In
ofConvicted Unconvicted Capacity 100,000
100,000
Population
Overcrowding
Prisoners Prisoners Prisoners
Millions
Population Population
1997
3.4327 5,747 4,922 4,420 1,327 3,029 167.4
88.24 62.5 %(70%) (30%)
1998
3.4964 6,187 5,026 4,929 1,258 3,899 177.0 111.51 28.90%(74%) (26%)
1999
3.5587 6,202 5,173 4,957 1,245 4,296 174.3 120.72 20.40%(75%) (25%)
Ref.: Statistic Department, Minister of Justice377

RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 57b.

c.

more than 16 years went up by
12%. During the same year,
imprisonment was used in morethan 90% of the cases. This wasprobably because of the public
and pressure for more and morepunishment. The legal reform of
1998, maximum statutory lengthof penalty was extended from 25
to 50 years and this has
contributed to increasing the
average length of sentence.
Delay in Trial
Currently the average period of
trial from prosecution until
sentencing is about seventeen
months. This is due to theshortage of public prosecutors
and judges.
Inappropriate Use of Open Penal
Centers and Conditional Release.
In the last three years, thepercentage of prisoners in closed
centers is more than 85%. This
figure seems to indicate thatYear

there is excessive utilization ofclosed imprisonment by the
penitentiary system.
2. Japan(i) In 1999, there were 67 prisons and 7
detention houses (excluding thejuvenile classification homes and thejuvenile training schools.). The
percentage of accommodation rate in1998 was 82.9 percent. Correctional
institutions as a whole in Japan are
not overcrowded.
The acknowledged number of offences
has increased consistently for the last ten
years. The accommodation rate of penal
institutions has been rising every year andsome penal institutions like female prisonsor prisons for those convicts who do nothave advanced criminal tendency havebeen experiencing problems ofovercrowding. This is a trend that raises
some concern to the administration of penal
institutions and is to be watched in future.

1996

Population
In Millions
125.86

Number of
Offences
1,812,119

Number of
Prisoners
49,4141997

126.17

1,899,564

50,897

1998

126.492,033,546

52,715

Year

Prison Capacity

Number of
Number ofConvicted Prisoners Unconvicted Prisoners
40,5158,899(81.99%)(18.01%)
41,8689,029(82.26%)(17.74%)
43,4649,251(82.45%)(17.55%)

No. of Prisoners/ No. of Capacity/
100,000 Population 100,000 Population
1996
64,770
39.3
51.5
1997
64,404
40.3
51.0
1998
63,625
41.7
50.3
Ref: White Paper on Crime 1997 - 1999

378

Percentage ofOvercrowding-23.7%-21.0%-17.1%

115TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSEREPORTS OF THE COURSE(ii) Reasons for No Overcrowding inJapan
Generally, overcrowding may becaused by delay in investigations,
inadequate use of non-custodial
measures and others, but Japan does
not have these problems.
a. Strict Observation of Law
The Code of Criminal Procedurerequires police and publicprosecutors to handle one casewithin the confinement period of
23 days or less at theinvestigation stage. This
restriction of period is observed
strictly by them. Also at the trial
period, cases requiring long trial
periods have been limited to only
brutal or complicated cases. The
ratio of cases whose trial periods
were within three months
exceeded 70 % in the courts offirst instance in 1998. The ratioof cases that took more than one
year in the trial period was only
1.7 %. These figures have notchanged much in recent years.
b. Adequate Use of BailJapan has a bail system after the
initiation of prosecution. The
number of defendants who werereleased on bail in the courts offirst instance was about 16 % in
1998. Though at first sight thisfigure seems to be low, this isbecause the number of bailrequests was not so high.
Realistically more than half thenumber of the requests for bailwere accepted by the judge before
the first trial date.
c. Effective Use of Non-custodial
measures
As for the non-custodial
measures, there are suchmeasures as disposition of petty
offences at the police stage,suspension of prosecution at

public prosecutors stage, andsuspension of execution ofsentence at trial stage. Thesesystems are being utilizedaccordingly. For instance, therate of suspension of prosecutionof criminal code offence was 34.9
% in 1998. The rate of suspensionof execution of sentence was 63%
for imprisonment with labor and95.8 percent for imprisonment
without labor. The ratio of thenumber of newly admitted
prisoners per the total number ofoffenders (penal code offenders
and special law offenders)received by public prosecutors
offices was only 2.06% in 1998.
These figures show that manycases are diverted at each stage.
d. Effective Use of Parole
Moreover, at the stage of theexecution of punishment, releaseon parole is effectively used. The
rate of release on parole was 58.2
percent in 1998.
(iii) As mentioned above, the number ofcrimes and the accommodation rate
has been increasing in the last few
years. We can analyze that one of thereasons for the recent increase of theaccommodation rate in Japan is theincrease in the number of crimes/
prisoners. And the reasons of therecent overcrowding situation in thefemale or non-advanced criminal
tendency prisoners’ prison resultsfrom the lack of facilities which canaccommodate them, while thenumber of such kinds of prisoners
keeps on increasing and theclassification is strictly done.
3. Kenya(i) Overcrowding in prison penal
institutions in Kenya has
consistently been a problem. The
magnitude of this problem however

379

RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 57
varies from one penal institution toanother. Example: the medium
sentence prisons are relatively more
overcrowded than others while
prisons based in major towns
experience more overcrowding
relative to those in district rural
areas.
As at the week of 18 February 2000,
Year

Population
In Millions

Number of
Prisoners

1999

28.50

35,058the average daily prison population
was as shown in the following table.
Compared with late 1970’s and early
1980’s the prison population has
rapidly risen from 24,239 to 35,058.
The overcrowding has been very
rapid and steep more than doublingup (from 73% to 150.4%) between
1979 and 1999.

Number of Number of
Prison No. of Prisoners/ No. of Capacity/ Percentage ofConvicted Unconvicted Capacity
100,000
100,000
Overcrowding
Prisoners Prisoners
Population
Population
25,9749,084
14,000123.0
49.1
150.4%(74.09%) (25.91%)

Ref: Prison Annual Report(ii) Causes of Overcrowding in Kenya
The main causes of prison
overcrowding in Kenya are thefollowing:a. Inadequate Finances
Prisons like all other government
public institutions are fundedfrom public finances. Like allother public institutions they
have to make a strong case tojustify their demand for funds
and in this they compete withothers for the available national
funds. This is in spite of the factthat their function and roles aremandatory. With a declining
national economy, funds madeavailable to prisons haveproportionally been declining at
a time when the prison
population has actually been
increasing. The inadequate
finances lead to cut backs on mostprison activities. At best, mostof the prison programs operate at
half or less of their capacity
performance levels. This has leadto correctional staff focusing
more on secure custody at the

380

b.

expense of corrections andrehabilitation and thus placing
constraints on the essential early
release measures of remission
and good conduct sentence
reduction measures. As a result,the length of prison sentenceserved by inmates is in mostcases as per the courts
originating orders.
Lack of Early Release Measures
The “end line” early releasemeasures that have beeneffectively utilized elsewhere arelacking or under utilized. The
parole program especially iscompetently capable of down
loading prison population by athird or more. It is however
unavailable and therefore there
is no opportunity to utilize thisearly release program. Thismeans that the length ofsentences served in Kenya isrelatively greater.
Prisoners end up staying longer
in correctional institutions forperiods unrelated to training
needs. As mentioned earlier
remissions, general pardon and115TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSEREPORTS OF THE COURSE

c.

other early release measures areapplied ad-hoc and therefore only
marginally impact on prisons
overcrowding.
Inadequate Use of Alternatives
The magistrates/courts whichhave the first jurisdiction andprocess over 80 % of the criminal
proceedings annually sparingly
apply non-custodial
countermeasures. Ordinarily,
the proportion of imprisonment
compared with probation orders,
community service orders andother supervisory orders are low.
The mindset in sentencing is toconsider imprisonment as thesentence of first choice. This
inevitably creates a very fastbuild up of prison population.
This has been the trend in thelast ten years. The occasional
mass state pardons do not seemto have had a lasting impact
because barely six months after,
the same levels are reached. As
such there is presently no cut-off
on prison overcrowding in Kenya.
4. Malaysia(i). The actual situation of overcrowdingin Malaysia fluctuates and the trend
shows that the prison population
declined from 29,150 in 1998 to
25,019 in 1999. The percentage ofprison overcrowding decreased from32 % to 4.75 %. The main reason forthis decline is that in 1998 many
foreign prisoners were deported totheir own countries and the practicewill continue in future.
As of 2 March 2000 there was amarginal increase of the penal
population from 25,019 to 25,029 andthe percentage of overcrowding rosefrom 4.75% to 4.8%.

Year

No. of Percentage
Population Penal Number Number of Number of Prison No. of
PopulationofConvicted Unconvicted Capacity Prisoners/ Capacity/ofIn
Prisoners Prisoners Prisoners
100,000 100,000 Overcrowding
Millions
Population Population
31-Dec 22.20 29,150 25,427 22,666 6,484 22,085 131.3 99.48 32.0%-98(89.14) (10.86)
31-Dec 22.80 25,019 21,966 19,649 5,370 23,884 109.7 104.75 4.75%-99(89.45) (10.55)
2-Mar 23.00 25,029 22,176 17,676 7,353 23,884 108.8 103.84 4.79%-00(79.71) (20.29)
Ref: Malaysia Prison Department(ii) Causesa. Lack of Alternative Measures
The main reason of overcrowdingin Malaysia is the lack ofalternative measures toimprisonment. This is because thepublic has a very strong influencein favor of imprisonment
particularly for heinous crimes.
b. Increase in Number of Crimes
The increase in the number ofcrimes committed especially

under the Dangerous Drug Act
and the Immigration Act
aggravate the overcrowding rate.
Malaysia is the place of transit
for drug smugglers. The steadyflow of foreign workers also
contributes to the prison
population. The foreign prisoners
charged under the Immigration
Act in 1998 were 5,051 prisoners
and as of 2 March 2000 thenumber of foreign prisoners was

381

RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 57

c.

5,068.
Slow and Inefficient
Administration in the Criminal
Justice System
The shortage of judges andmagistrates and also theincreasing workload causes delay
in trials and makes the period ofremands longer. The increase of
awaiting trial prisoners in
Malaysia also creates
overcrowding.

5. Pakistan(i) There are vastly diverse ways tomeasure overcrowding. Here thesimplest method is used and involves
comparing the state set capacity ofprisons and the actual number ofprison inmates on a given day. If thelatter exceeds the former (more than100%), one could conclude that theprison system is generally
overcrowded. Pakistan with apopulation of 120 million has 76
prisons with a capacity of 34,700
inmates. Against this capacity
81,904, 73,884 and 78,938 prisoners
Year

Population
In Millions

Number of
Prisoners

1997

120.0081,904

1998

123.3673,8841999

126.81

78,938

were housed during 1997, 1998 and1999 showing an overcrowding of
136%, 112%, and 127% respectively
whereas the imprisonment rate per
100,000 population was 68.2, 61.5
and 65.7 in the same order during theabove period. The table below
presents occupancy rates for the last
three years ie 1997, 1998 and 1999.
The highest rate of overcrowding has
been in the year 1997, which shows
136% overcrowding.
The careful perusal of the tableindicates a fluctuating prison
population during these three years
hence, no special trend setting
inference can be drawn. During the70s the position was not grave, butwith rapid changing socio-economic
conditions, process of globalization
exposure of youngsters to world
media and increases in population
has resulted in the growth of theprison population. In addition to theabove there are a number of othercauses of over crowding, which are
discussed hereinafter.

Number of Number of
Prison No. of Prisoners/ No. of Capacity/
Convicted Unconvicted Capacity
100,000
100,000
Prisoners Prisoners
Population
Population
50,318 31,586 34,700
68.3
28.9
(61.44%) (38.56%)
15,777 58,107 34,700
59.9
28.1
(21.35%) (78.65%)
17,697 61,241 34,700
62.2
27.4
(22.42%) (77.58%)

Percentage ofOvercrowding
136.0%
112.9%
127.5%

Ref: Home Department Government of Punjab, NWFP, Sindh, Baluchistan,(ii) Causes of Overcrowding in Pakistan
a. Delay in Judicial Disposition ofcases
Overcrowding of unconvictedprisoners is a common problem
in many countries, however inthe present group, Pakistan is382

the only country where thisproblem is more pronounced.
The number of unconvictedprisoners have shown a sharp
upward trend during the last
three years which not onlyreflects a very low conviction

115TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSEREPORTS OF THE COURSE
percentage, but also indicatesslow judicial disposition of cases.
The reasons are shortages ofjudges, magistrates, police,prosecuting officers and above all
insufficient court officials who
are over worked. The otherreasons are postponement ofcases, witnesses not available
due to all sorts of reasons,lawyers engaged in other courts,
incomplete investigations, police
officers (due to other multifarious
duties) are either not available or
not well prepared to face thecourt and counsel for the accused.
The influence of corruption andinsufficiency are also considered
contributing factors in thisregard. Although unconvictedprisoners are eligible to obtainrelease on bail, inadequate use of
bail provisions result in increases
in remand population.

c.

d.
b.

Lack or Limited Use of
Alternative Measures to
Imprisonment
This is one of the major
contributory factors towards anincrease in the prison population.
Although we have fines andsuspension of sentence asalternative measures toimprisonment, these are not veryfrequently used particularly inheinous crimes. In fact public
perception about the punishment
is tilted more towards
imprisonment than alternative
measures. That is one of thereasons that the courts havesparingly used alternatives.
Cases have also come to thenotice where a number of finedefaulters are serving prison
sentences because of inability topay.

Lack or Limited Use of Early
Release Measures and After Care
Services
Although we have sufficient early
release measures like remission,
pardons, parole, treatment
program within prisons and aftercare services, they are far below
optimum level. As a result therate of recidivism is increasing.
In fact prisons are considered as
nurseries for the training of firsttimer offenders to turn them into
hardened criminals. On the other
hand, one school of thought is of
the view that the lack or nonavailability of facilities within
prisons or bad prison conditions
act as deterrents and results in a
reduction of recidivism. But infact it is the other way round anda very negligible proportion of theprison population fall under thiscategory.
Lack of Resources
Financial constraints lead to
deficient space and facilities forthe prisoners ultimately leading
to overcrowding. In Punjab,
which is one of the biggest
provinces of Pakistan only 10
new jails have been constructed
after independence, where as the
population has increased tenfold.
Hence, due to the non-availabilityof space for the penal population
the overcrowding is not only
increasing rather it has alreadyreached an alarming stage.

6. The Philippines(i) G e n e r a l l y, t h e c o r r e c t i o n a linstitutions in the Philippines
operating under three distinct andseparate departments (theDepartment of Justice, theDepartment of Interior and Local
Government and the Department of383

RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 57
Social Welfare and Development) areexperiencing overcrowding problems
in their respective correctional
facilities. It is pointed out that thecapacity of its facilities is not enoughto accommodate the increasing
number of offenders.
The estimated population of thePhilippines in 1999 was 80.7 million.
It recorded an average increase of 6%
per year. In 1999, the recorded
number of the penal population was
70,383 or its equivalent to 87.2
prisoners per 100,000 population. It
has an average yearly increase of
9.6%. In 1997, the ratio between theadult and youth population was
86.5% and 13.5% respectively; in
1998, it increased to 91% and 9%; andin 1999 registered a slight decrease
to 86.5% and 13.5%. In three years
time, the average ratio between theadult and juvenile offenders was 88%
Year

1997
1998
1999
Year

Population
No. of
In Millions Prisoners
72.60
76.60
80.70

58,55264,66870,383and 12% respectively.
The measurement of capacity in thecorrectional facilities varies from thekind of treatment andaccommodation afforded to them by
the three distinct departments. For
DSWD, the quarters of youth
offenders are of dormitory typewherein each offender is provided
with two square meters bed space
and another two square meters open
space for easy mobility. In 1999, theovercrowding situation in thefacilities for youth offenders went up
to 21.8%. On the other hand, theBureau of Corrections under the
Department of Justice providing
custodial care to convicted national
prisoners (3 years above sentence)
reported that the average living spacefor each offender is 1.82 square
meters. The overcrowding is howevercompensated by wide-open spaces for

Prison No. of Prisoners/ No. of Capacity/ Percentage of
Capacity
100,000
100,000
Overcrowding
Population
Population
43,000
80.7
59.2
36.2%
45,000
84.4
58.7
43.7%
45,000
87.2
55.8
56.4%

Type of
Penal
No. of Convicted No. of Unconvicted
Offenders Population
Prisoners
Prisoners
50,55825,79524,873
Adults(51.02%)(48.98%)
1997
7,994
0
7,994
Juveniles(100%)
58,89337,482
21,411
Adults(63.64%)(36.36%)
1998
5,775
0
5,775
Juveniles(100%)
61,85743,486
18,371
Adults(70.30%)(29.70%)
1999
8,526
0
8,526
Juveniles(100%)
Ref: Bureau of Corrections, DSWD Annual Report384

PrisonCapacity
36,000Percentage ofOvercrowding
40.4%

7,000

14.2%

38,000

55.0%

7,000

-17.5%

38,000

62.8%

7,000

21.8%

115TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSEREPORTS OF THE COURSE
playgrounds inside the prison
compounds. The state of overcrowding
is even more serious in district,municipal, city and provincial jails
managed by the Department ofInterior and Local Government.
(ii) Causes of Overcrowding in thePhilippines
a.Slow Administration in the
Criminal Justice Process
The table attached herewith
shows that the average
percentage between theunconvicted and convictedprisoners is 45.3% and 54.7%.
The slow administration in thecriminal justice process is pointed
out as one of the leading causesof the overcrowding problem
prevailing in most correctional
facilities. The trial proceduresare delayed such that thedetention of the offendersometimes exceeds the maximum
period of penalty for the offense
charged.
b. The Economic Crisis
The economic turmoil
experienced by the country is one
important aspect that
contributes to the increase incriminality. The unemployment
and the underemployment rate of
the country as of January 2000
were 30.5% as against the entire
working population. This may
explain why crimes against
property was so high in the
country for many years now(50.6% in adult population and
49.4% in youth population). This
number further accounts for theconsiderable number of detainees
who cannot afford to post bail andtherefore stay longer in detention
cells. The budgetary constraints
faced by the government also

hindered the construction ofcorrectional facilities.
III. INFLUENCE OF
OVERCROWDING
A. Introduction
As we have seen above, many countries
are facing the problem of overcrowding.
This is the root cause of many problems
experienced in correctional institutions
such as deterioration of the living andworking conditions of both inmates andcorrection staff.
B. Influence of Overcrowding on the
Prison Administration.
1. Staff
In overcrowded prisons, staff are overworked, their works become morerisky, the quality of work goes down
and their effectiveness to implement
programs designed to rehabilitate
offenders is reduced. Furthermore, itcauses health problems to staff
because they are exposed tounhealthy surroundings. They arealso affected psychologically andemotionally.
2. Staff - Staff Relations
In overcrowded situations, staff-staff
relationships are also strained, andstaff efficiency goes down because thesenior officers are over loaded withwork while sorting out staff disputes
instead of concentrating on
correctional training assignments
and responsibilities.
3. Staff - Inmate Relations
In overcrowded prisons, security
risks increase because the breach of
prison rules and regulations is high,gangs are organized and thepossibility of prison riots increases.
The unfair distribution of favors andcorruption creeps in. The chances of385

RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 57
contracting diseases are more in suchsituations.
C. Slows Down the Correctional
Programs.
Classification/segregation of cases
according to behavior, age, etc. will bedifficult. Every prisoner may not get theopportunity to avail the correctional
programs i.e. waiting list increases. As aresult, the recidivism rate climbs because
not all are put through the correctional
system.
On the other hand, management are
most likely to experience difficulties inplanning, coordinating, implementing,monitoring and evaluating activities of theinmates. Classification will be difficult.
D. May Lead to Violation of Human
Rights and Dignities.
The United Nations Minimum Standard
Rules describes a model system of penal
institutions. To practice human rights anddignities in the penal institutions, it isimportant to apply the standard of theserules as much as possible. When
overcrowding occurs in penal institutions,the application of these rules, especiallyconcerning clothing and bedding, food,hygiene, medical services becomes very
difficult to implement.
E. Causes Stress and Tension among
Inmates.
Stress and tensions among inmatescreate an increase in the number ofdisciplinary cases and will develop
disruptive behaviors, which may cause
psychological and physiological effects.
IV. CAUSES OF OVERCROWDING
A. Introduction
It is often stated that prison
overcrowding is a problem in many
countries. This leads to a deterioration of
the living and working conditions of both386

inmates and correction officers. There areseveral explanations of overcrowding.
Although imprisonment is a minor elementof the conventional punishment system, thecorrectional authorities cannot control theflow into prisons.
Furthermore increase in population,changing economic conditions all over theworld, globalization factors and exposureof particularly the young generation toelectronic media has also resulted in an
increase in the number of crimes andcriminality which has ultimately resulted
in overcrowding of the penal population.
On the other hand, police andprosecutors in some jurisdictions are often
given great discretion in the number ofcases to be processed. Thus, the agencies
administrating punishment, be it
imprisonment or otherwise may suffer fromheavy overcrowding and increasing work
load over which they have no control.
In the following paragraphs the causes
which are more critical and are applicable
to almost all the countries in general arebeing discussed in relation to these organsof the criminal justice system.
B. Causes of Overcrowding at the
Police/Prosecutor Stage
1. Delay in Investigation andSubmission of Indictment
Delay in investigation of cases in which
the accused is detained will result inovercrowding of detention houses andprisons. In many countries either theprovisions for investigation without
detention are limited or are not usedeffectively and efficiently, thus resulting in
more unconvicted prisoners. Similarly thedelay in submission of indictment will slow
down the process of criminal justice and islikely to result in an increase in the numberof unconvicted/under trial prisoners.

115TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSEREPORTS OF THE COURSE
2. Non Availability of Provision in
the Law for:(i) Disposal of Cases by the Police(ii) Suspension of Prosecution
In many countries provisions do not exist
where cases of petty theft, petty fraud, etc
can be disposed of by the police. In fact
non disposal of petty cases at the initialstages not only results in overloading thecriminal justice system with unnecessary
work but also results in increasing thenumber of unconvicted prisoners.
Similarly on the prosecution side many
countries have provisions in the law for theprosecutor to suspend or close theinvestigation when certain criteria are
fulfilled and in some cases purely on
discretion, but these provisions are notbeing applied efficiently. This may resultin increases in the number of unconvictedprisoners or detainees.
C. Causes of Overcrowding at the
Judiciary Stage
1. Slow and Inefficient Administrationin the Criminal Justice Process.
It is clear that delay in the criminal
justice process will increase thenumber of remand prisoners andcause overcrowding. Slow andinefficient administration in thecriminal justice process is a major
cause to overcrowding at the judiciarystage.
In every country, judges/courts aretrying to realize speedy trials.
Realistically, however they cannot
accomplish this goal because ofincreasing numbers of cases,
inadequate cooperation of parties
involved or witnesses. Incomplete
investigation, neglect of preparation
for trial, difficulties in designating
continuous trial date and shortage ofjudges, public prosecutors, lawyers,
court clerks and interpreters also
impede on speedy trial.
Additionally, though the authority ofinvestigation belongs to the policeand prosecutors, it is one of the duties
of a judge/magistrate to observe thatthe investigation is carried out. In
some countries, observation of
investigation by judges (magistrates)
is imperfect and causes the extensionof detention period.
2. I n a d e q u a t e U s e o r L a c k o fAlternative Measures.
Lack of alternative measures toimprisonment is considered a major
factor in causing prison overcrowding
situations in many countries. The
tendency in these countries is one
where imprisonment is utilized by
the courts as first option before
considering other non-custodial
measures. It was observed that inthese countries, many alternative
measures do indeed exist. It washowever noted that their use orapplication was minimal and they
therefore do not affect the levels of
numbers sentenced to imprisonment.
The preference for the over use of
imprisonment was discussed and itcame out that generally it isinfluenced by the already establishedsentencing practice, prevailing
feeling and attitude of people at agiven time on issues of crime and insome instances the judicial traditionand precedents that have been set
and followed in the past. It is
however the case that lack ofalternative measures and inadequate
use of the available countermeasures
have a great influence on levels ofprison overcrowding. Any effort torelieve this problem must therefore
be directed to this cause ofovercrowding.
In some countries the average termof sentence is comparatively long.
This can also be one reason of
overcrowding.

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RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 57
3. Inadequate Use of Bail.
All the countries discussed have abail system. In many of them, there
are many defendants waiting fortrial, even though their offences may
be bailable. It is no doubt that thissituation deteriorates toovercrowding. This is because
defendants cannot pay bailbond dueto their poor financial situation or
they are not offered the opportunity.
D. Causes of Overcrowding at theCorrection/Rehabilitation Stage
1. Inadequate Use and Lack of Early
Release Measures
Prolonged incarceration has beenused as a traditional way ofpunishment. Studies however showthat prolonged incarceration has
brought about negative effects on thewell being of offenders. Henceforth,early release measures have been put
in place as alternative measures toimprisonment like probation, parole,
remission, week-end detention andothers. These are made available toattain the objectives of correction/
rehabilitation and to solve
management problems brought about
by congestion in penal institutions.
As a result of group discussions, it
was found out that although early
release measures have been madeavailable in all participant countries,
they are not fully maximized andutilized. Some do not have otherearly release measures as have beenpracticed by other countries. For
example, Malaysia and Kenya do nothave the parole system to provide an
opportunity to the qualified offender
to continue serving his sentence inthe community which is less costly on
the part of the government andprovides ample opportunity to an
offender to start a new life.
Early release measures have the388

advantage of lessening the lengththat the prisoners spend incorrectional institutions. Where
early release are also granted but
subject to good conduct they operate
as subtle inducements for behavior incorrectional set-ups which is anecessary pre-requisite to effective
training, care and control. The
overall effect however is to reduce thenumber of prisoners and thus reduce
prison population levels.
2. Capacity
It is observed that penal capacity inmany countries has remained thesame without taking into
consideration the numbers of thosesentenced to prison terms every year.
This capacity in most cases is often
below the prison’s population level.
It is felt that if capacity was utilized
as an indicator of ideal prison levels
at any given time, overcrowding
would be avoided as resources
required could be made available toaccommodate the increased numbers.
Low capacity means that the
distribution of prisoners toappropriate correctional institutions
is not properly done according to therisk and needs assessment criteria.
It also means that space andresources are constrained.
Transportation of convicted prisoners
from one prison to another or
unconvicted prisoners from remand
homes to the courts are a major
occupation for correctional staff. It isconsidered that prison capacities
could be regularly adjusted
commensurate with the country’s
population.
3. L a c k o f E f f e c t i v e Tr e a t m e n t
Programs and After Care Services
It has been observed that thetreatment programs at the correction/

115TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSEREPORTS OF THE COURSE
rehabilitation stage are notsystematic, complete or suitable tofulfill the individual needs ofprisoners. The lack of effective
treatment may be due to inadequate
classification of the prisoners,
mismatched allocation of prisoners
into the appropriate prisons anddistribution of inmates into thewrong training schedules. This
problem is made worse where thecorrectional staff do not have up todate knowledge, skills andmotivation to carry out their duties.
This trend has a tendency of releasing
prisoners back into the community
who are not properly rehabilitated.
T h e c o m m u n i t y ’s t e n d e n c y i s
predictably to harbor and harden
negative feelings of ex-prisoners. It
is considered that the creation of
appropriate community awarenesson treatment programs will be usefulto create positive public attitudes tocorrections. It is in this connectionthat after care services arerecommended in early releasecountermeasure.
V. COUNTERMEASURES FOROVERCROWDING
A. Introduction
Arising from group discussions, it isevident that many countries areexperiencing overcrowding in prisons. Thishas been brought out through thedescriptions and graphic data submitted inthis paper. It has also come out that thecauses of overcrowding are clear whenanalyzed against the background of
criminal justice practiced by each
respective country.
It is, however, difficult to prescribe
possible countermeasures due to thefollowing:- The penal philosophy, ideology andpolicy guiding correctional practicevary from one country to another.
There is no uniformity in theapplication of aims of sentencing, thatis, whether it is outright retribution/
incapacitation, deterrence, or
correction/rehabilitation.
The correctional policy is therefore foundto be influenced by :- Social/cultural experience of thepeople, economic development level ofthe country, and the expectation of thepeople on what constitutes fair justice.
The impact of countermeasures will also
be influenced by the public perception of
public security, law and order, and how it
is executed by the various agencies ofcriminal justice. An informed public
opinion would appreciate efforts aimed at
decongesting prisons. Public opinion is
likely to influence the extent to which noncustodial measures are viewed and, byextension, accepted by the community.
B. Countermeasures at Police/
Prosecutor Stage
Because the stage of police andprosecutors is aimed at investigation andprosecution, countermeasures towards
overcrowding are comparatively limited. As
a whole, for prisoners to get alternatives
to imprisonment, investigation andprosecution must be done as quickly as
possible.
These countermeasures are as here
under:
1. Minimum Detention
Using the investigation withminimum detention of suspects by
reducing unnecessary delays. For
example, a suspect involved in minor
offences may not be arrested/detained. The countries that do nothave this provision may consider thisoption as it works successfully.
Furthermore where the suspect isinvolved in a crime which is
cognisable and bailable, the option of
releasing him on affordable surety

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RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 57
bond may be considered, after giving
due weight to circumstances of thecase.
2. Disposal of Cases at the Police andProsecutors Stage
Disposal of cases at the police andprosecutors stage shall be improved
to reduce prison population. This canbe discussed under the following
headings:- Disposition of Petty Offences- Suspension of Prosecution(i)

Disposition of Petty Offences at
the Police Stage.
In some countries the suspects/
offenders involved in minor
offences like traffic violations,petty theft, petty fraud and petty
gambling could be subjected to asimplified procedure ofterminating their cases. This canwork as a countermeasure at theinitial stage of the criminal
justice system.
(ii) Suspension of Prosecution
This is being practiced very
successfully in many countries.
In this process the prosecutor isempowered by the law to suspend
prosecution before trial and in a
few countries like Pakistan andIndia etc after commencement of
trial. We feel that in countries
where this provision does notexist, they may consider suchprovisions in their law.
To achieve benefits from theabove two provisions, theconfidence of people in theprosecution and police is aprerequisite. Furthermore theprocess is required to betransparent and officials are
required to be accountable for
their deeds.

390

C. Countermeasures at the Judicial
Stage
1. Speedy and Efficient Criminal
Procedure(i) Observation of Investigation
When a judge/magistrate views
a warrant request, they have toconsider whether it is necessary
to arrest/detain the suspect or notby considering the merits of thecase or the circumstance of thesuspect. A judge/magistrate also
has to observe strictly the time
limitation imposed oninvestigating agencies. Proper
observance of time limitations
will reduce the number of
unconvicted prisoners.
(ii) Introduction of Arraignment
Procedure, and Summary Order
Procedure.
In order to reduce the number oftrials, some countries haveintroduced criminal procedures
through which cases are disposedof without opening trials. These
procedures contribute to reducethe detention period of
unconvicted prisoners.
a) Arraignment Procedure is afaster process. For example
in Costa Rica, Malaysia,
Kenya, Philippines, thedefendant and the publicprosecutor could get into amutually acceptablearrangement: the defendant
accepts the penal
responsibility and the publicprosecutor often offers him/
her a discount in the penalty.
Then the court approves theagreement and does not open
trial.
b) Summary Procedure is also
useful for speedy criminal
procedure. This is the special
procedure that imposes a

115TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSEREPORTS OF THE COURSE
certain amount of fine on the
defendant without the normal
trial. The request ofprosecutors and theagreement of the suspect are
required before applying thisprocedure. This procedure isutilized to deal with minor
cases well and about 90
percent or more of all cases
indicted are disposed ofthrough this procedure in
Japan every year.
(iii) Limitation of Detention Period at
Trial Stage
Some countries do not havespecific time limits of detention
periods after prosecution. There
were some defendants who had
stayed in jail waiting for trial for
longer periods than the length of
final punishment. For thiscountermeasure, the law shouldorder a specific time limit for thedetention period at the trial stage
as well as at the investigation
stage. For example in the case of
Costa Rica, this measure isapplied and has a limit of time
12 months. If the sentence is inappeal, the measure is extended
by six months more. If this period
expires and the individual does
not have the definite sentence,the detention is discontinued.
(iv) Speedy Trial
The judicial goal is to achieve
speedy trial. To realize this,judges should hold pre-trial
conferences with publicprosecutors and defense counsels
to identify the main issues of thecase. Judges should also
determine the length of trial andmake arrangements with bothparties about the schedule oftrial. To designate plural trial
dates will contribute to speedy
trial.
Needless to say, speedy trials
cannot be realized without thecooperation of public prosecutors
and defense counsels.
2. Effective Use of Alternative Measures
to Custodial Sentences(i) Fines
Fines are utilized in all countriesof our group and contribute to
reduce the number of convictedprisoners. In some developing
countries where the economic
conditions are poor, there aremany prisoners who are sent tojail because they cannot afford to
pay the fines. To prevent this, a
day fine system or paying the fineby installment is recommended
as a solution.
(ii) S u s p e n s i o n o f S e n t e n c e /Suspension of Execution of
Sentence
Suspension of sentence/suspension of execution ofsentence frees the defendantfrom punishment. Many
countries have this kind ofsystem. These systems aremainly utilized for first time
offenders who commit minor
offences. In some countries
suspension is sometimes
accompanied by a probation
order. As mentioned before, inJapan execution of sentence issuspended in more than 60
percent of all trial cases and it
contributes to reduce the numberof convicted prisoners.
(iii) A Drug Court
The rapid increase of drug
addicts causes overcrowding too.
Drug Court is a new alternative
measure incorporated in

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countries like Australia and theUnited States. In Australia they
have a program for the offences
granted to drug addicts, as
alternative to imprisonment andthe judge refers to a specificprogram of treatment andsupervision. If the individual
fulfills this measure, he/she does
not have to go to jail (the sentence
is suspended).
(iv) Others
There are some other noncustodial measures as follows:- House Arrest: the offendermust remain within theconfines of the home during
specified times and adhere toa strict curfew.
- Binding Over: the court orders
the offender to make acontract with a fixed amountof money which will be
forfeited on him/her in casehe/she does not appear for the
court appointment.
- Community Service Order:
the court orders the offenderto perform unpaid labor likecleaning public parks, schools,
and hospitals for a specified
number of hours in a
determined time period.
- Weekend Detentions: thecourt orders the offender tostay in jail only on weekends.
- Recognizance: this is analternative measure for thedetention of youth offenders in
the Philippines. Offenders on
trial can be released back into
the community with theprotection and guidance ofqualified parents, relatives or
responsible persons in thecommunity on condition ofgood conduct but under thesupervision of a social worker.

392

3. Reduce Sentence Length
In some countries, reduction of thesentence length is one way to
alleviate overcrowding. But thesentencing practice has taken rootsin the judicial system of many
countries and therefore it is very
difficult to change the average lengthof sentence. So, to change thesentencing practice, it is necessary to
win the understanding of the public.
Costa Rica has a unique system
where the judges have the powers torelease juvenile convicts before expiryof their sentence (which can be called
as one of the early release measures)
after obtaining reports fromconcerned agencies on behavior andother factors of the convict.
4. Appropriate Use of BailAfter considering the contents ofoffences, the possibility of destroying
evidence or threatening witnesses,
judges/court could grant bail if theoffence is bailable.
In some countries, there are many
defendants who cannot be released onbail, because the amounts of bail bondare so high, even though theiroffences may be bailable. But the
purpose of bail bonds is to make thedefendant attend trial. In this sense,
the amount of bail bonds should beaffordable to each defendant andsufficient to ensure his/her presence
for trial.
As mentioned before, lack of
information for defendants causes
insufficient use of bail. It is necessary
to enhance the defense activities in
the pre-trial process.
D. Countermeasures at theCorrection/Rehabilitation Stage
1. Early Release Measures(i) Parole
Parole is a conditional release of

115TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSEREPORTS OF THE COURSE
prisoners after serving certain
periods of the determined
sentence. Eligibility is howeverconditional on other factors e.g.
whether one is a first time
offender, a recidivist offender ora risky offender. Modalities forconsideration of parole aspracticed in Japan is as follows:- Pre-parole investigation
reports prepared by parole/
probation officer are
submitted to the Parole
Board.
- Prisons Superintendent sends
application of all suitableprisoners to the Parole Board.
- Contact interviews with aprisoner by the Parole Board.
- Decision to grant parole or not
is decided by the Parole
Board.
- If the decision is positive theprisoner is granted parole forthe remaining period of theprison sentence subject tosupervision in the community
by a probation/ parole officer.
This countermeasure can beextensively utilized. For
example, in Japan the number ofparoles were given to 12,948
prisoners (58.2%) in 1998.
Revocation cases amounted to
992 or 7.6% for the same period.
- The advantage for thiscountermeasure is that the
Parole Board does not change
the length of original sentence
given by the court.
- The parolee gets guidance andassistance/support after
release from prison and someget residence and daily living
allowances from half-way
houses run and managed by
the non-profit privateorganization.

-

The parolee is expected toobserve some laid down
conditions as part of his
contract to keep within thelaw.
Parole is a demanding programand creates a lot of overload while
processing applications anddeciding on each case. It
therefore requires personnel,
finances and a lot of time to makeit work. It is however, a good
program because it isaccountable and encourages
prisoners to live normally in thecommunity.
(ii) Remission
Remission is the reduction of theperiod to be served by a prisoner. This
period is pre-determined e.g. in
Malaysia 1/3; Philippines 1/3, Kenya
1/3 and Pakistan 1/3 remission period
is provided for by the law. The periodof remission may vary from one
country to another but generally is a
program practiced in many countries.
Remission is provided for in the law
except in capital punishment or
where otherwise stated. Remission
can be forfeited in cases of grossmisconduct by the prisoner as laid out
in the prison rules. Remission isadministered by the prison
authorities and therefore is not
expensive to manage.
It has been found that remission
reduces prison custody by up to athird of the length of the sentence. It
is a useful program in reducing
overcrowding because it is less costly,easy to administer and decisionmaking is done by the prison
administration. It encourages good
discipline in the prison setup. In the
short term, remission is an effective
countermeasure to overcrowding. In
the long run, it may create recidivism
because there is no follow up or any

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RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 57
supervision.
(iii) Pardons
These are ad hoc decisions to relieve
prison pressure by releasing
prisoners before their sentence iscompleted. Such cases are released
during national day celebrations oron any other such like occasions.
They are effective in reducing prison
populations for a time but they are
not sustainable. The released
prisoners are not subject tosupervision and therefore they raise
concern for the public. More often,
the impact of these general pardons
is temporary to the prisons’overcrowding situation. It was notedthat pardons are practiced in thePhilippines, Malaysia, Kenya,
Pakistan, Costa Rica, Japan andmany other countries. They do servea purpose however short lived.
The above countermeasures are
considered significant because of
their ability to deal with the sizeable
number of prisoners if properly
managed. These programs arepractical and easy to manage andfunding requirements arecomparatively low. Finally, it ispossible to monitor and evaluate theimpact of these programs to prison
overcrowding situation on an on
going basis.
2. Enhanced Resource Allocation
The local and national government
should increase the operational
budget of correctional institutions sothat effective treatment programs
can be implemented. Construction,
expansion and renovation of facilities
are needed to accommodate theincreasing rate of penal populations
and keep pace with the changing
situations such as the properclassification and allocation of
offenders (young and adult, convicted394

and unconvicted).
3. I m p r o v e E f f e c t i v e Tr e a t m e n t
Programs and After Care Services
Improve staff competency levels that
implement treatment programs
utilizing case management strategy.
This is a collaborative and multidisciplinary process that includes
assessment, planning,
implementation, coordination,
monitoring and evaluation of options
and services needs by the offenders.
This may include the assessment of
the offenders’ risk, the recognition ofneeds, the monitoring of theiractivities and if deemed appropriate,a correctional intervention. Further,counseling integrated with cognitive
skills training which touch on topics
relative to control of misbehavior isalso proven as an effective measure.
Open penal systems that utilize theconcept of conditional release likeparole, probation, suspension ofsentence, week-end detention etc. isa good strategy to give pre-releaseprisoners a chance to prove his worth
again to be reintegrated back tosociety. This minimizes the stigma
attached to an offender as prisoner,
enhances role performance andregains self-esteem. This system is
effective, easy to manage and reduces
overcrowding situations incorrectional facilities.
The enhancement of after careservices should be given full attention
by the government as one importantmeasure to reduce the recidivism
rate. Networking with nongovernment organizations, civic
bodies and religious groups is alsoneeded to augment the limited
budget of the government and tostrengthen the after care services in
the community.

115TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSEREPORTS OF THE COURSE
E. Other Countermeasures
It was felt that in addition to the above
countermeasures there is a need to ensure
effective coordination amongst the organsof the criminal justice system coupled withdecriminalization of behaviors that do notpose a threat or risk to public security. It isalso realized that agencies of the criminal
justice system need to be made more
efficient and compatible with the changing
times by providing them with sufficient
staff, adequate funds and computerizationof records. An efficient criminal justicesystem can reduce the number of prisoners
substantially thus relieving the pressure
on prisons.
VI. CONCLUSION
In conclusion, it was felt that weakeconomies, high unemployment rates, lowliteracy percentage, high population
growth, unfair application of laws,
globalization factor and exposure ofparticularly young generations toelectronic media has resulted in an
increase in the number of crimes andcriminality which has ultimately resulted
in an increase in the number of unconvicted
and convicted prisoners. This phenomenon
has posed very serious problems for thecriminal justice system and especially thecorrection administration. The countries
that had never experienced the problem ofovercrowding are also threatened becauseof this phenomenon.

custodial measures and abundant use ofearly release measures. However it wasobserved that before introducing new
countermeasures it would be appropriate
to properly evaluate the same to ensure its
success and effectiveness.
It was also felt that governments do not
assign appropriate priority to the prison
administration at the time of allocation offunds for creating more capacity and to
improve/update correctional facilities.
Last, but not the least it was realizedthat the option of imprisonment as apunishment is being used more often than
not in most of the countries, which is oneof the major causes of overcrowding.
However it was felt that in spite of theabove, it is possible to formulate
countermeasures that are viable,
implementable and practicable which cansolve the problems of overcrowding
substantially.

In addition to the actual situation andcauses of overcrowding in eachparticipant’s country, the causes andcountermeasures at each stage of thecriminal justice system, that is, police,prosecution, judiciary and correction werealso discussed in detail. It was felt that toalleviate the problems of overcrowding in
the penal institutions there is a need tohave an efficient criminal justice system
to ensure speedy trials, wider use of non-395