Exploring the Factors Related to Prolonged Pretrial Detention: Evidence From a Local Jurisdiction in the Philippines

• In Event: Governing through Crime: Challenges and Implications of the Philippine Drug War

Abstract

Long-term pretrial detention is a key issue facing the criminal justice systems of many developing countries. Inmates stay in jail for years while undergoing trial but are still unconvicted. This has led to jail crowding, violence and a general distrust to the administration of justice and the rule of law. However, little is known on the factors related to this troubling phenomenon. Utilizing jail level data and qualitative interviews from inmates, jail officers and criminal justice actors in a local jurisdiction in the Philippines, this paper explores the causes of long-term pre-trial detention. Specifically, the jail data set explores whether inmates' individual level characteristics (age, gender, education and religion), and offense characteristics (drugs, violence, bailable) are related to length of pretrial detention. Additionally, interviews among inmates, jail officers, judges and other court actors explore criminal justice practices that contribute to the delay of case processing. Implications to theory and policy are discussed.

Author

• Raymund Narag, Southern Illinois University