43. States Parties must ensure that criminal cases against parents/primary caregivers are prioritised and processed expeditiously, as it is known that accused persons spend an excessive amount of time in pre-trial detention in Africa. The communication link between parents/primary caregivers that are in detention and their children should be promoted and States Parties have a duty to ensure that there are established legislative and administrative measures to ensure that children whose parents or caregivers are in carceral institutions have regular contacts with their parents or caregivers. 44. States Parties must put mechanisms in place to minimise arrests of parents/ primary caregivers, taking all other considerations into account, such as the crime allegedly committed. Should the police not have had an alternative to secure attendance at court, then the presiding officer at the first appearance of such person should: (a)Establish whether the accused person is the parent/primary caregiver of a child; (b)Establish the circumstances the child might find him/herself after the arrest taking into account the best interest of the child; and (c)Based on this, make a decision whether or not to release the defendant. 45. The release of parent/primary caregiver at court proceedings should be dealt with as a matter of priority. In other words, establishing the above criteria should not necessarily await a social worker investigation. The judicial officer should take the initiative to ask the defendant of her specific situation at home and corroborate this evidence with any testimony provided by the arresting police officer. A child may also be called as witness in order to ensure his/ her involvement in the decisionmaking process, thus complying with Article 4(2) of the African Children‟s Charter. 46. Many States Parties have established ways to secure the attendance of accused persons without resorting to detention. These include posting bail, using summons 19