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Preventive detention concerns imprisonment either without justification (the prisoner is not told the grounds for the arrest) or waiting for trial.

In most democracies, no one can be arrested without being told the grounds for such an arrest, except under rare and special circumstances (usually anti-terrorism legislation). An arrested citizen has to be brought before the nearest magistrate within a certain amount of time. The arrested person has the right to defend himself by a lawyer of his choice. Depending on the laws, this lawyer can be called for as soon as the detention starts, or sometimes days or weeks later.

However, there is an exception to this general provision. Under preventive detention, the government can imprison a person for some time. It means that if the government feels that a person being at liberty can be a threat to the law and order or the unity and integrity of the nation, it can detain or arrest that person to prevent him from doing this possible harm.

Contents 1 Specific jurisdictions 1.1 India 1.2 United States 1.3 Australia 1.4 Costa Rica 1.5 Denmark 2 New Zealand definition 3 See also 4 References

[edit] Specific jurisdictions

[edit] India

In India, preventive detention can be extended only for three months. After three months such a case is brought before an advisory board for review. In India, this is given in the Indian constitution under Right to Freedom, a Fundamental Right.

[edit] United States

In the United States, the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees the right to "a speedy and public trial". Thus, arrested persons may not be held for extended periods of time without trial.

In late June 2009 United States President Barack Obama was reported to have been considering indefinite preventive detention for some Guantanamo captives.^[1][2][3]

[edit] Australia

In Australia the legislation differs depending on the state, but the bulk of the preventive detention laws have been aimed at dangerous sex offenders. Some academics argue that this is fair, because of the dangerous offender's prior fault. Dennis J. Baker, ‘Punishment Without A Crime: Is Preventive Detention Reconcilable With Justice?’ (2009) 34 Australian Journal of Legal Philosophy 120.

[edit] Costa Rica

The Republic of Costa Rica, where the 1998 Criminal Proceedings Code allows for a normal "preventive" imprisonment of 12 months if the person is considered a "flight risk", but if the case is declared "complex", it can be increased to up to three years and a half of imprisonment without conviction, or even more in some cases. In fact, in Costa Rica, as of 2006, over 4,000 people were serving terms of preventive detention.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Denmark

The police can detain people for 6 hours without involving the courts or pay compensation for wrongful arrest ^[4]. In relationship with the ongoing gang war in Copenhagen between the biker gangs and second generation youth gangs it has been suggested to extend the 6 hour limit to several weeks ^[5]. In relationship with the Copenhagen Climate Council a new set of emergency laws was introduced allowing the police to detain people for 12 hours without charging them for a crime ^[6]. Critics fear that they will remain as permanent laws when the summit is over.

[edit] New Zealand definition

In New Zealand, "preventive detention" has a different meaning: it is an indeterminate life sentence, and is handed down to individuals convicted of violent and/or sexual crimes (such as sociopathic murderers, serial rapists or recidivist pedophiles) where it is likely that the offender will reoffend if released. Such individuals will only receive parole if they can demonstrate they no longer pose a threat to the community. In November 2009, a total of 80 prisoners in New Zealand were serving terms of preventive detention.

Preventive detention has a minimum non-parole period of five years in prison, but the sentencing judge can extend this if they believe that the prisoner's history warrants it.

The longest non-parole period on a sentence of preventive detention is one of 28 years, being served by New Zealand's worst pedophile, John David Fleming, who molested 42 boys aged between 4 and 15 who were under his care as a Sunday school supervisor between 1971 and 1996; the non-parole period was originally 20 years, and was increased to 28 years on appeal.

[edit] See also

• Australian Anti-Terrorism Act 2005
• Arbitrary arrest and detention
• Criminal Law (Temporary Provisions) Act (Singapore)
• Internal Security Act (Singapore)
• Internal Security Act (Malaysia)
• Civil confinement

[edit] References

1. ^ Glenn Greenwald (2009-06-27). "Obama contemplates Executive Order for detention without charges". Salon magazine. http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2009/06/27/preventive_detention/index.html. Retrieved 2009-06-27. 
2. ^ Stephen Lee (2009-06-27). "Proposed executive order on preventive detention: holes in the story". The Examiner. http://www.examiner.com/x-13426-CIA-Examiner~y2009m6d27-Proposed-executive-order-on-preventive-detention-holes-in-the-story. Retrieved 2009-06-27. 
3. ^ Spencer Ackerman (2009-06-27). "Uh, Which Civil Liberties Groups Pushed For A ‘Prolonged Detention’ Executive Order?". http://attackerman.firedoglake.com/2009/06/26/uh-which-civil-liberties-groups-pushed-for-a-prolonged-detention-executive-order/. Retrieved 2009-06-27. 
4. ^ The police law (In Danish), Homepage of the Danish police
5. ^ S vil sætte bandekrigen bag tremmer, by Bente Lund, Denmarks Radio, February 22, 2009
6. ^ Hårdt politisk opgør før Folketinget sagde ja til lømmelpakken, by Jens Ringberg, Denmarks Radio, November 26, 2009