INTRODUCTION

Overuse of criminal justice is a general but not significant characteristic of the Greek justice system as a whole. Looking at the analysis and the trend to carry criminal justice too far, we can see the picture is complicated. Overcriminalization is related to overregulation, which mainly pertains to the country's EU and international commitments.

The overuse of prosecution is a cause and effect of practical difficulties, vague legislation, the reluctance of prosecutors and inadequate support for them to use the few alternatives foreseen by law.

As for the (over)use of imprisonment we have to stress that during the last three decades a decreasing trend of those convicted have been sentenced to imprisonment, and from these sentences a small part cannot be paid off. Prison overcrowding is a result of longer sentences served on convicts due to the severity of their crimes, higher pre-trial detention rates due to the overload of cases to be judged and a higher number of foreigners for whom their unstable or illegal residence statuses hinders courts from granting an early conditional release or avoiding detention.

During the last 30 years, Greek governments without exception focused primarily on the prison situation and they have tried hopelessly to control prison overcrowding with successive changes in legislation that have proven ineffective in the long run. Curiously, they continue to insist on them, while criminal justice bureaucrats, law enforcement officials and academics have also proven unable to make sound suggestions and form strategic plans for the criminal justice system as a whole.

What is not taken into account is that these policies are financed by the taxpaying Greek citizens. These citizens also pay with their safety and the consequences of crime. One of these consequences is providing funds and capital for an ever-growing prison system, which sometimes violates human rights not because of choice, but because of its inability to deal with difficult situations or simply reacting to pressing conditions. In addition, delayed court dates make citizens unjustly suffer throughout their use of the criminal justice system, while the swelling legislation undermines security and rule of law.