Chief Justice David Maraga has launched an audit report on criminal justice based on research conducted by the National Council on Administration of Justice (NCAJ).
According to the research carried out in 18 counties, it has been revealed that most of the criminals detained take much longer time in the remand cells than the time stipulated in the constitution. The findings were based on a social science-oriented approach where official records, remand registers and case studies were used with the main areas covered being police stations, courts, prisons and children remand homes.
According to the research on the police department, 68% of people who are taken to police cells are less serious offenders with the highest entry and release records being during the weekends, most cases pertaining drunk and disorderly charges.
The duration ordinary cases take to be solved ranges to 281 days with 28% cases related to children defilement cases. In the prisons sector, more female detainees are convicted and charged, with 75% of them being women below the age of 35 years as compared to 27% for men with most cases being murder property damage.
According to the research, the state of most cells and prisons is terrible given that they are centres which were used during the colonial period with most of them being overcrowded and not conducive for people with special needs. The recommendations from the report include Reforms on legislative policy framework, Improving on quality of justice on serious offends and balance on resource utilization as it’s evident some centres have better facilities than others.