increased from 60,887 to 87,011.65 In such a situation, prisoners are packed like sardines. The only good news is that a couple of new prisons are under construction and they will house a couple of thousand prisoners in the next 2/3 years. However, at least 10 new prisons are needed for a permanent solution of this problem. Overcrowding in Prison Prison capacity and Prisoners 100,000 80,000 60,000 Capacity Prisoners 40,000 20,000 0 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 Jan-07 May-07 2008 Year Of the entire prison population, approximately one-third of the detainees had been convicted. The rest were either awaiting trial or detained for investigation. Due to the severe backlog of cases, individuals awaiting trial often spent more time in jail than if they had been convicted and served a maximum sentence. In most cases, prisoners sleep in shifts because of the overcrowding and do not have adequate bathroom facilities. In 2010, the government ordered the release of 1,000 prisoners to help ease overcrowding.66 65 66 48 The Daily Star, July 26, 2008. Ibid.