The first edition of the Regional Snapshot can be downloaded here.
Daejeon (Republic of Korea), 16 December 2021 – Imprisonment is a growing issue in Asia-Pacific: between 2000 and 2019, the prison population in the region has increased more than 40%. In 2019, 5.47 million people were held in prisons in Asia-Pacific, almost half of the world’s prison population.
In order to promote understanding of the dynamics of imprisonment in the region, and to support decision making, the Centre of Excellence for Statistics on Crime and Criminal Justice in Asia and the Pacific (CoE) has published the first edition of its “Regional Snapshot: Prison Population in Asia and the Pacific”. The publication provides concrete and accessible insights to inform policy makers from different backgrounds, including those with no previous knowledge of statistics.
In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, and in a scenario of limited resources and competing priorities, finding alternative solutions for crime prevention and detention that are grounded on evidence becomes even more critical. Shedding light on data from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the first edition of the Regional Snapshot examines, with the use of data visualizations and concise findings, prison population trends at the regional level.
As part of its commitment to improve the collection and use of crime data for evidence-based policymaking in the Asia-Pacific region, the CoE is planning the launch of additional resources in 2022 to improve the understanding of subregional dynamics. The objective is to reach a variety of actors involved in the criminal justice system, highlighting the ways in which data can be part of decision processes and improve crime response and prevention in the region.
Any inquiries about the publication and about the work of the CoE can be sent to unodc-kostat.coe@un.org
