01Core output
Persons eligible for release
Case-level identification of people eligible for lawful release or alternatives to custody.
Prison Audit
Understand who is in prison – and why.
Case-level and institutional analysis identifying drivers of overcrowding, excessive pre-trial detention and opportunities for lawful release or alternatives.
Where it looksPrisons and pre-trial detention
- Police
- Prosecution
- Courts
- Prisons
- Legal aid
- 01Produces
- Identification of persons eligible for release and policy recommendations
- 02Scope
- Prisons and pre-trial detention
- 03Timeframe
- Scoped to each assignment
- 04Builds on
- Case-level and institutional records
01Questions
The questions it is built to answer.
The answers come from individual case files as well as institutional returns – so release recommendations rest on evidence the institutions recognise.
Who is in prison – and what is their legal status?
Which prisons have the highest proportion of unsentenced detainees?
How long are people held on remand?
Who is eligible for lawful release or an alternative to custody?
What is driving overcrowding?
Are alternatives to custody and early release mechanisms being used?
02How it works
Look behind the headline figure.
Who is held → with what legal status → for how long → why → who can lawfully be released.
Prison overcrowding can reflect pressure elsewhere in the justice chain: slow investigations, delayed hearings, limited legal aid or unused alternatives to custody. A Prison Audit looks behind the headline population figure to establish who is held, with what legal status, for how long – and why.
The analysis works at case and institutional level. It identifies people eligible for lawful release or an alternative to custody, for referral to the courts, and policy measures that could reduce recurring pressure on prisons.
National researchers and practitioners work with the institutions concerned to verify findings and develop release and policy recommendations. The institutions concerned are involved in validating the evidence.
Step by step
- Step
Profile the population
Disaggregated by status, case type, gender, age and time in custody.
- Step
Trace the drivers
Follow cases back through police, prosecution and courts.
- Step
Identify eligibility
People who can lawfully be released or diverted to alternatives.
- Step
Recommend policy
Measures to reduce excessive pre-trial detention over time.
03What it examines
What it examines.
Measured case by case and institution by institution, then set against the rest of the justice chain.
- Prison population (disaggregated)
- Capacity and infrastructure
- Case types and legal status
- Length of pre-trial detention
- Human and material resources
- Alternatives to custody and early release mechanisms
Where the pressure on prisons comes from
- Police
Slow investigations
- Courts
Delayed hearings
- Legal aid
Limited legal aid
- Sentencing
Unused alternatives
- Prisons
Overcrowding
04What you receive
What you receive.
-
-
02
Prison population profile
The population disaggregated by status, case type, gender, age and length of detention.
-
03
Drivers of overcrowding
Where pressure on prisons originates across the justice chain – and why.
-
04Core output
Policy recommendations
Practical measures to reduce excessive pre-trial detention and overcrowding.
05In practice
From case files to lawful release.
>50%
Of the unsentenced persons identified as eligible in three Malawian prisons were released by the courts as a direct result of the Prison Audit.
- Interviewed
- 1,067
- remand prisoners
- Maula · Kachere
- 66%
- eligible for release
- Mzuzu
- 55%
- eligible for release
Maula | Kachere897 remand prisoners interviewed
66%eligible for releaseNamed lists submitted to the courts
9%indicated guilty pleas15 youth under 21 · 2 women · 63 adult men
Mzuzu170 remand prisoners interviewed
55%eligible for releaseNamed lists submitted to the courts
17%indicated guilty pleas3 youth under 21 · 3 women · 23 adult men
Grounds for release · named prisoners
- Maula | Kachere
- Mzuzu
- Bail as of right 22 Maula | Kachere 17 · Mzuzu 5
- Bail granted by lower court 154 Maula | Kachere 135 · Mzuzu 19
- Overstayed minor offence 48 Maula | Kachere 34 · Mzuzu 14
- Overstayed serious offence 471 Maula | Kachere 406 · Mzuzu 65
View the data
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Maula | Kachere: remand prisoners interviewed | 897 |
| Maula | Kachere: eligible for release | 66% |
| Maula | Kachere: indicated guilty pleas | 9% |
| Maula | Kachere: guilty pleas, youth under 21 | 15 |
| Maula | Kachere: guilty pleas, women | 2 |
| Maula | Kachere: guilty pleas, adult men | 63 |
| Mzuzu: remand prisoners interviewed | 170 |
| Mzuzu: eligible for release | 55% |
| Mzuzu: indicated guilty pleas | 17% |
| Mzuzu: guilty pleas, youth under 21 | 3 |
| Mzuzu: guilty pleas, women | 3 |
| Mzuzu: guilty pleas, adult men | 23 |
| Bail as of right: Maula | Kachere, youth under 21 | 4 |
| Bail as of right: Maula | Kachere, adult general population | 13 |
| Bail as of right: Mzuzu, adult general population | 5 |
| Bail granted by lower court: Maula | Kachere, youth under 21 | 12 |
| Bail granted by lower court: Maula | Kachere, adult general population (incl. 2 women) | 75 |
| Bail granted by lower court: Maula | Kachere, adult homicide-charged population | 48 |
| Bail granted by lower court: Mzuzu, youth under 21 | 1 |
| Bail granted by lower court: Mzuzu, adult general population (incl. 2 women) | 18 |
| Overstayed minor offence: Maula | Kachere, youth under 21 | 6 |
| Overstayed minor offence: Maula | Kachere, adult general population | 28 |
| Overstayed minor offence: Mzuzu, youth under 21 | 1 |
| Overstayed minor offence: Mzuzu, adult general population | 13 |
| Overstayed serious offence: Maula | Kachere, youth under 21 | 17 |
| Overstayed serious offence: Maula | Kachere, adult general population (incl. 6 women) | 174 |
| Overstayed serious offence: Maula | Kachere, adult homicide-charged population | 215 |
| Overstayed serious offence: Mzuzu, youth under 21 | 6 |
| Overstayed serious offence: Mzuzu, adult general population | 59 |
→Your question
Start with the question you are facing.
Choose the question closest to yours and tell us a little about your context.