Detention: extent and concerns, including radicalisation Figure 4: Total number of persons in detention (pre- and post-trial) in the 28 EU Member States, 2008 through 2014 700 000 600 000 500 000 400 000 300 000 200 000 100 000 0 2008 2009 2010 2011 Note: For BE, CY, and LU, the 2013 data was also used for 2014. Source: Eurostat 2012 2013 2014 3.2. Concerns about detention in the EU Even though the detention rate in the EU is generally considered to be too high, an international comparison provides perspective. Figure 5 shows the EU ave­ rage number (126) of pre- and post-trial detentions per 100,000 members of the population, and a comparison with select countries across the globe with a simi­ lar Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to that of the EU. The rates in the EU are on par with Australia but lower than those in the United States and New Zeeland. Still, the EU’s rate is higher than Canada’s and significantly so compared to Japan. There are various problems related to the extent of detention in EU Member States. In addition to overuse, there is overcrowding and other forms of poor detention conditions, as well as insufficient attention to social rehabilitation. These main concerns are relevant for the application of the three Framework Decisions and thus explored in this study. The overuse of criminal detention, both pre- and posttrial, is a world-wide problem, including in the EU. International human rights obligations to make only limited use of pre-trial detention are flouted in many cases (an issue further addressed in Chapter 2). Council of Europe Figure 5: Detention rate (pre- and post-trial) per 100,000 population in select states with GDP per capita similar to that of the EU, compared with EU average 800 700 698 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 151 106 194 48 USA Canada Japan Prison population rate (per 100,000) Australia New Zealand EU average (126) Note: For the sake of comparability, the selected non-EU states have a high GDP per capita, similar to that in the EU. Source: Institute for Criminal Policy Research (ICPR), University of London, World Prison Population List (eleventh edition). The information comes largely from national prison administrations or responsible ministries. The data are for the latest reference year available when the statistics were published in October 2015 55