Offence of Absconding Flashcards
Q: What is the offence of absconding?
S3 Bail Act- a person granted bail in criminal proceedings is under a duty to surrender to custody
Q: What are the 2 offences for failing to surrender or absconding?
S6 Bail Act creates the 2 offences.
Q: Offence 1
S6(1) Bail Act 1976
(1) If a person who has been released on bail in criminal proceedings fails without reasonable cause to surrender to custody he shall be guilty of an offence.
Q: Offence 2
(2) If a person who-
(a) has been released on bail in criminal proceedings, and
(b) having reasonable cause therefor, has failed to surrender to custody, fails to sur-render to custody at the appointed place as soon after the appointed time as is reasonably practicable he shall be guilty of an offence
This second offence means even if you have a reasonable excuse for not surrendering at the right time, that doesn’t mean you don’t have to surrender at all. You must still surrender at the ap-pointed place as soon as you reasonably can, otherwise you commit an offence.
Q: When does s6 apply?
S6 applies where:
- The police grant bail to a suspect to appear at the police station
- The police grant bail to D to appear at court on the first appearance
- The court grants bail to D to return to court at a later date.
Q: Where do you have to surrender?
You have to surrender at the appointed time AND place. It is no defence to be slightly late.
Scott 2007- accused was half an hour late. It was held that he absconded.
Arrival at the court means entering the dock or being in the assigned place by the court- arriving through the doors is not surrendering.
Q: Who does the burden of proof for showing ‘reasonable cause’ lie with?
The defence. It will have to be proved on the balance of probabilities.
Q: Is mistake a defence?
Mistake as to the date and time of surrender is not a reasonable excuse so is therefore not a de-fence.
It needs to be out of the defendant’s control and unforeseeable!
Q: What if the defendant is not issued with a copy of the record so does not have a written record of where he needs to be?
Failure to give to a person granted bail in criminal proceedings a copy of the record of the decision does not constitute reasonable cause for that person’s failure to surrender to custody (s. 6(4))
Q: What sentence does absconding hold when dealt with by the Magistrate’s?
Summary offence- up to 3 months imprisonment
Q: What sentence does absconding hold when dealt with by the Crown court?
Treated as a contempt of court- up to 12 months imprisonment.
Q: What happens when the offence concerns bail granted by the police?
Proceedings must take place within 6 months of the commission of the offence or within 3 months:
(a) after the person surrenders to custody at the appointed place
(b) is arrested, or attends at a police station, in connection with the bail offence or the offence for which he/she was granted bail
(c) the person appears or is brought before a court in connection with the bail offence or the offence for which he/she was granted bail
Q: What are the powers of arrest when people do not surrender when they should or breach bail conditions?
2 different provisions: s46A PACE and s7 Bail Act
- s46A PACE- deals with persons who have been released on police bail, subject to a duty to attend the police station
(1) A constable may arrest without a warrant any person who, having been released on bail subject to a duty to attend at a police station, fails to attend at that police station at the time appointed for him to do so
(1A) A person who has been released on bail under may be arrested without warrant by a constable if the constable has reasonable grounds for suspecting that the person has bro-ken any of the conditions of bail
For s46A(1)- YOU NEED TO MAKE SURE THE PERSON HAS FAILED TO ATTEND THE POLICE STATION! REASONABLE SUSPICION THAT THEY MIGHT IS NOT ENOUGH!
For 46A(1A)- YOU CAN ARREST ON SUSPICION!
(2)A person who is arrested under this section shall be taken to the police station appointed as the place at which he is to surrender to custody as soon as practicable after the arrest.
Q: What is the law under s7?
s7 Bail Act- deals with persons who have been bailed either by the police or court, to at-tend court
This is a wider power and lets you arrest in advance on the grounds of reasonable belief.
You need more info to build a reasonable belief than you do a reasonable suspicion.
S7(3) provides a power to arrest without warrant in relation to persons bailed to court.
(3) A person who has been released on bail in criminal proceedings and is under a duty to surrender into the custody of a court may be arrested without warrant by a constable
(a) if the constable has reasonable grounds for believing that that person is not likely to surrender to custody
(b) if the constable has reasonable grounds for believing that that person is likely to break any of the conditions of his bail or has reasonable grounds for suspecting that that person has broken any of those conditions
(c) in a case where that person was released on bail with one or more surety or sureties, if a surety notifies a constable in writing that that person is unlikely to surrender to custody and that for that reason the surety wishes to be relieved of his obligations as a surety
The arrested person must be brought before a Magistrate or crown court judge (in the case of someone charged with murder) within 24 hours.
Where he has been arrested within 24 hours of his surrender time, he must be brought before the court in which he would have surrendered to custody.
