Arrest and detention in international travelers

Background: Our objective was to examine the characteristics of internation al travelers from Canada who have been arrested or detained while abroad, a nd to review the health implications of incarceration. Method: An Epilnfo 6 program was created to ana lyse all of the Consular re ports received in 1995 via the Secure Integrated Global Network (SIGNET) wh ich provides communications and computerization services to the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Canada. The Consular Management and Operations System was designed to support the delivery of consular ser vices by the Department, and to link Headquarters in Ottawa with missions i n other countries th rough case management files, including a "Prisoners" f ile. Information obtained included personal demographics (age, gender), dat e, country, and reason for arrest or detention, and outcome of judicial pro cess. Results:There were 1,086 arrest or detention reports received from Consular services via SIGNET in 1995. Males outnumbered females 5.6:1. Most individ uals arrested were young: 57.5% were less than 40 years, and 79% were less than 50 years. Drug related charges were cited in 33.1% of all cases, with 52.8% of arrested females charged with drug related offenses. The documente d conviction rate was 96%. The majority of detained Canadian travelers were held in countries within the Americas (791 cases - 69.2%), with 642 (59.1% ) being detained in the USA. Conclusions: Arrest and detention is an unusual occurrence for internationa l travelers but relative youth, male gender, and female drug couriers were identifiable risk characteristics. Public awareness campaigns can be target ed to specific population demographics, but all international travelers nee d to be counseled on the consequences of transgressing laws in foreign coun tries.