This article is written by Walter Hammerschick and is about the project DETOUR, which was funded by the  Justice Programme of the European Commission.

In the 47 Member States of the Council of Europe more than 325.000 prisoners are held in pre-trial detention, more than 100.000 of them in the 28 Member States of the European Union. Pre-trial detention serves above all procedural purposes: to prevent a suspect from absconding or from tampering with evidence. The justice systems must have a way of ensuring that those accused stand trial.