26 national prison population was 5,577 inmates, of whom 3,747 (67%) were in pretrial 78 detention, whereas by 2012 the total had risen to 13,654, of whom 11,410 had not been sentenced. This growth is essentially due to criminal-law reforms that have had a direct impact on incarceration rates, and on serious structural shortcomings within the 79 judicial branch, defense public services, and the prison system itself. 58. One of these structural shortcomings is the rate of hearings that are suspended, and the lack of coordination among the parties involved at trial (absences on the part of judges, prosecutors, defendants, defense attorneys, interpreters, among others). A recent study conducted in the country’s four main cities, which together account for 67% of all judicial activity, revealed that “only 30% of planned hearings took place normally on the official days and schedules for court operations; 12% were held on weekends and holidays; 57% were suspended and 1% […] were held but were not open to the public.” This study found that the party at trial with the most absences was the Public Prosecution Ministry, which failed to attend 58% of the suspended hearings. In addition, 11% of all the hearings were held in the absence of the prosecutor, who sent the case files to be read out by the clerk of the court. At the same time, in 22% of 80 the cases, the parties did not attend because they were not notified. In general, a detainee can wait up to six months for a hearing to try to obtain another precautionary 81 measure, and hearings can be suspended more than seven times. 59. Brazil comes second only to the United States among the region’s countries with the most people in prison. It had 549,577 in mid-2012, of whom 508,357 were in the penitentiary system and 41,220 were in the custody of state police forces; and, of the total number held by the penitentiary system, 191,024 were in pretrial detention. Between June 2009 and June 2012, the total number of people deprived of liberty increased by 17.04%, the prison population within the penitentiary system by 24.21%, and the number of inmates in pretrial detention by 27.76%. It is also noteworthy that 27.2% of the inmates held in the prison system are between 18 and 24 82 years old. 78 Construir Foundation, Criminal Procedure Reform and Pretrial Detention in Bolivia (Reforma Procesal Penal y Detención Preventiva en Bolivia), 2012, p. 67. 79 In connection with this, see, in general: Construir Foundation, Criminal Procedure Reform and Pretrial Detention in Bolivia (Reforma Procesal Penal y Detención Preventiva en Bolivia), 2012, Chs. 2 and 3. This report concludes, unequivocally, that “a vast number of [criminal] cases are brought to trial, and they outstrip the human capacities of both the Public Prosecution Ministry and the courts system. […] In 2010 alone, 20,670 formal charges were brought, while the courts across the nation issued only 874 judgments: a proportion equal to 4%” (p. 119). 80 Construir Foundation, La Paz Foundation, Capacitación y Derechos Humanos, Progettomondo MLAL, and DNI Internacional, The Impact of Pretrial Detention in Bolivia (El Impacto de la Prisión Preventiva en Bolivia), 2013, pp. 16 and 17. The figures cited cover a total of 591 hearings for precautionary measures monitored by Construir Foundation’s observer team in 2012-2013 in the cities of La Paz, El Alto, Cochabamba, and Santa Cruz. 81 Information presented during the hearing on Situation of Women Deprived of Liberty in Bolivia, 147th regular period of sessions, organized by Legal Office for Women (OJM), Committee for Latin America and the Caribbean (CLADEM), Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL), March 15, 2013. 82 Note from the Permanent Mission of Brazil to the OAS No. 15, January 31, 2013.