Bail Flashcards
What does being given bail mean?
the person is allowed to be at liberty until the next stage in the case
What are the requirements if someone is released on police bail if …
i) The police are making enquiries
ii) If the defendant has been charged with an offence
i) On the condition they return to the police station on a specific date in the future
ii) Condition they appear at the local Magistrates Court on a set date
Who makes the decision to grant bail under what powers?
- The custody officer
- under s.38 of PACE as amended by CJPOA (1994)
Under what circumstances can the custody officer refuse bail?
-If the suspects name and address cannot be discovered or is doubted to be true
What can happen if a person granted police bail fails to attend the next stage of the case?
-The police have the right to arrest them
What percentage of people charged with offences are granted police bail?
84%
What can the conditions of conditional bail be?
- to surrender their passport
- to report at regular intervals to the police station
- To ask another person to stand surety for him
What is the purpose of conditional bail?
- To ensure that the suspect surrenders to bail (attends)
- To make sure that the suspect doesn’t commit an offence while on bail
- To make sure witnesses aren’t interfered to subvert the course of justice
What must happen if the police refuse bail?
The suspect must be brought in front of the Magistrates Court at first possible opportunity
How many of those who are charged out of 6 are granted police bail?
5 out of every 6
What police power grants bail?
The Bail Act 1976
Which section under bail gives a general right to bail?
Section 4 of the Bail Act 1976
What 4 reasons can the court use to refuse bail?
If the court have substantial grounds for believing that the defendant if released on bail will…
1) Fail to surrender to custody
2) Commit an offence while on bail
3) Interfere with witnesses or otherwise obstruct the course of justice
4) For their own protection
What 4 factors are considered when the court grants bail?
1) the nature/seriousness of the offence
2) The antecedents (past record), character and community ties of the defendant
3) Defendants record in surrendering to previous bails
4) The strength of evidence against him/her
If a defendant is charged with an offence not punishable by prison, what is the circumstance under which the court can refuse bail?
-If the defendant has previously failed to surrender to bail and have reasonable grounds for believing he won’t again
In addition to the conditions of police conditional bail (surrendering of passport, report at regular intervals to police station, ask person for surety) what else can the court grant as a condition of bail?
-Where the accused must reside, such as at home or at a bail hostel
What is a court curfew and what does this entail?
- This is when the defendant has to be at his home address at set times (such as evening and night)
- Defendant is required to wear an electric tag
What is a surety?
A surety is another person who is prepared to promise to pay the court a certain sum of money if the defendant fails to attend court.
In all cases bail can be refused if there are reasonable grounds for believing the defendant would… (3)
1) fail to surrender
2) Commit further offence
3) Interfere with witnesses
How can a defendant appeal against a refusal of bail?
They can appeal to a judge at the Crown Court
Why even in serious offences are defendants allowed the right to bail?
this is because the right to liberty is a human right and so the right to bail is therefore part of this right
If a defendant aged over 18 was on bail during an alleged offence what is the law powers for this ?
s.14 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 amended the Bail Act 1976 said that
‘he may not be granted bail unless the court is satisfied that there is no significant risk of his committing an offence on bail.
What power amended the Bail Act of 1976 to place restrictions on bail for adult offenders who have tested positive for specified Class A drugs?
s.19 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003
What did the amendment of s.19 of the CJA 2003 do?
Put restrictions on class A drug offenders where …
- The offender is charged with possession or in intent to supply
- The court believes the drugs contributed to the offence
- The defendant has refused to participate in an assessment on his dependancy of the drugs
In murder cases who grants the defendant bail?
Only the Crown Court judge
-Magistrates no longer have power to grant bail in murder cases
What is a prosecution appeal and what powers are in place for this?
The Bail (Amendment) Act 1993 gave the prosecution the right to appeal to a judge at the Crown Court against granting bail
How did the Criminal Justice Act 2003 improve powers of the prosecution?
This extended the prosecutions power to appeal to all offences not just those where the offence involved carried a maximum of at least 5 years imprisonment
What percentage of people are in prison on remand?
9% of the prison population
-about 8,000 people are held in remand in custody at any one time
What percentage of those in remand at prison are actually sent to prison at the end of the case?
About 20%
6,000 people a year are remanded in custody and found either guilty or not guilty but not given a custodial sentence , what does this mean?
- This means that theses peoples rights to liberty have been seriously interfered with
- These figures suggest too many people are being reminded in custody
- Number has been reduced in recent years
Where would a person go on bail if they had no home address and why?
They would got to a bail hostel to live and be supervised to ensure that they will not commit offences while on bail
What did the ‘Panorama programme of July 2007’ show? What are the limitations of this?
- This showed that electric tagging is not always successful in preventing re-offending while on bail.
- 6 muders
- 1,000 violent offences
- Limitation of this finding is that tagging is used for early realise prisoners and so not all these offences will have been committed by those just on bail
What is the argument for the balancing of conflicting interests in favour of the individual who has been charged?
- Panorama programme July 2007
- There are a number of offenders who fail to answer to bail (do not attend court when required)
