INTRODUCTION.

Pretrial detention critically undermines the socioeconomic development of people and it is even more harmful to the poor. Africa has some of the world’s most overcrowded prisons. The average number of prisoners awaiting trial in Africa is 45 per 100 while the global rate is 44 per 100. Whereas the global awaiting trial detention rate averages 29 percent, Africa’s is 36 percent. Pretrial detainees form 62% of Kenya’s prison population as quoted in a report commissioned by Open Society Institute (OSI).
Poor people are most likely to come into conflict with the Criminal Justice System, more likely to be detained awaiting trial and less able to make bail or pay bribes for their release. This problem disproportionately affects poor and marginalized communities, whose members are more likely to be arbitrarily arrested and, unable to afford legal assistance, are most vulnerable to spending prolonged periods in pretrial detention. When individuals are detained for excessive periods and lose their jobs, their families slip deeper into poverty, facing hunger and homelessness. Many pretrial detainees are exposed to torture, violence, and disease. They are subject to the arbitrary actions of corrupt officials. The physical and psychological damage of this experience lasts long after detention ends.
Throughout their ordeal, most never see a lawyer or legal advisor and often lack information on their basic rights. When they eventually reach a courtroom—without representation and likely beaten down by months of mistreatment—the odds are stacked against them. The longer a detainee is held before trial, the more likely he or she is to be found guilty.
The conditions of prisons and prisoners in many African countries are afflicted by severe inadequacies including high congestion, poor physical, health, and sanitary conditions, inadequate recreational, vocational and rehabilitation programmes, restricted contact with the outside world, and large percentages of persons awaiting trial, among others.

It is a fact that majority of the pre-trial detainees held in Kenyan prisons are poor, semi-literate, have limited or no legal knowledge on basic law, are young (normally aged 15 to 25 years). They therefore cannot afford legal representation, bail or bond to enable them manage their cases effectively outside the prison remand homes or adequately represent themselves.

PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION

The project will implement the following activities both in the pretrial detainee’s capacity building and regal redress and well as crime prevention component.

Component 1.-Pretrial detainee’s capacity building
1. Building the capacity of pretrial detainees and their family members to know and understand their legal rights and the legal procedures that need to be followed in their cases for them to be able to gain confidence and know what actions to take and where to seek help. 
2. Linking detainees with their families, if they were taken into custody without communicating with their next of kin.
3. Documenting cases of petty offenders in order to understand their causes, for use in preventing imprisonment, crime and re-offending and for advocacy.
4. Building the capacity of RODI staff, prison officers, probation officers, police and local leaders to enhance project implementation, smooth running, sustainability and advocacy.
5. Building the capacity of the Kenyan communities on their legal rights and legal procedures using local media to enhance community participation and advocacy.

Component 2.-Crime prevention in the community
The part on pretrial detainees is linking with crime prevention component in many ways; one link being the use ex-pretrial detainees equipped with paralegal and life skills for their own use and for passing on to fellow Kenyans. The arrangement of using ex-pretrial detainees to reach out to the wider community will help kill many birds with one stone. Ex-Pretrial detainees who have benefited from the project will be prevailed upon to make sure they spread the skills as much as possible.
Ex-prisoners in the on-going Prisoner Rehabilitation Programme will be mobilized to work closely with ex-pretrial detainees to play a role in crime prevention. Both ex-prisoners and ex-pretrial detainees will be encouraged to work with schools and youth groups in crime prevention. Through the aftercare support for both ex-prisoners and Ex-pretrial detainees-the project will support them with materials to start income generating activities to earn a living. They will also be engaged in crime prevention activities in the community such as inviting them to talk to other youth during organized youth forums as well as educating them on legal rights and procedures and ways of engaging in community development and income generating activities.

Some of the key activities contributing to crime prevention are:
1. providing an after care follow up activity for willing ex- detainees and build the capacity of their communities in legal rights and procedures
2. Building the capacity of community leaders, chiefs, administration police and regular police in legal rights and procedures for crime reduction.
3. Organizing learning and awareness forums for school going children and youth for crime reduction by ex-pretrial detainees and ex-prisoners.

4.Training ex-pretrial detainees and ex-prisoners in agro processing, agriculture and life skills for income generation.
5. Supporting ex-pretrial detainees with start-up kits for income generating activities in sustainable agriculture, agro-processing and appropriate technology..
6. Supporting  ex-pretrial detainees and ex-prisoners to form peer groups for crime reduction activities.

SUSTAINABILITY.

This project will be sustained through a number of ways including:

1.   -Provision of paralegal education and service and life skills will go a long way in preventing damage meted to pretrial detainees which predispose them to more crime. The fact that this project has a well thought arrangement of reaching out more widely through pretrial detainees is an important element of sustaining the project.
2.   -Reducing pretrial detention will help a great deal in making Kenyans be out bondage and contribute to community and national development.   
3.   -Skills provided in the crime prevention phase of this project will serve a useful purpose of diverting people from crime.  
4.   -Training of pretrial detainees, paralegals and building the capacity of RODI staff and actors in the criminal justice system will build as cadre of knowledge which will go a long way in sustaining the project.
5.   -Working with schools in crime prevention will bring in a lot of benefits in that pupils are very good agents of information transfer to their peers, parents and the community at large. It will also help in nurturing a culture of a crime-free society.  
6.   -Documentation of project activities and keeping records of trainees and what they are doing is an important aspect of sustaining the project.