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Bail - Coggle Diagram

- - - - The police have powers to grant bail under s.38 PACE, which is granted by the custody officer.
        
        In essence, s.38 has a presumption in favour bail, and so supports the suspect’s rights, as it provides that the Custody Officer should grant bail unless certain factors apply.
        
        Custody Officer factors- Bail will not be granted if there are reasonable grounds to believe:
        
        That the suspect will interfere with witnesses
        
        The suspect is a harm to themselves or others
        
        That the suspect would fail to surrender to custody
        
        Detention is necessary for the suspect’s own protection or for the protection of others
        
        That the name and address of the accused is not known or not believed to be genuine
        
        Where the charge is murder, the Custody Officer may refuse bail, as outlined in the Coroners and Justice Act 2009.
        
        A custody officer is now required to consider whether there is a real prospect that the defendant will be sentenced to a custodial sentence when ordering release from police bail -LASPO Act 2012
        
        Under the LASPO Act 2012, the Custody Officer must consider if there are substantial grounds for believing that the defendant if released on bail would commit an offence by engaging in conduct that would be likely to cause injury or fear of the same to an associated person.
    - - Another power of the police to grant bail is found under s.4 Criminal Justice Act 2003 and is known as street bail.
        
        This is bail which is granted to a suspect on the street who is suspected of committing a summary only offence.
        
        This is seen as favouring the rights of the suspect as it is granting them their freedom very quickly.
    - - This type of bail relates to release without charge. The release maybe subject to a condition that the suspect surrenders to custody at a later time whilst the police make further enquires
        
        If the suspect fails to return at the appointed time he/she commits the offence of absconding under Section 6 of the Bail Act 1976.
        
        Previously the police had the power to bail a suspect before charge for an unlimited amount of time, as shown in the case of Paul Gambiccini.
        
        As a result, this law was challenged in Hookway v UK, in which the European Court of Human Rights agreed that this particular aspect of bail did infringe a suspects’ Article 5 rights.
        
        This ultimately led to a change in the law and now under the Policing and Crime Act 2017, the police only have the power to bail a suspect under s.37 for 28 days, after which time they must charge or drop the investigation.
        
        The 28 days can be extended to three months for serious fraud cases, or if one of the conditions A-D in s.47 PACE (1984) are satisfied.
    - - If a person is arrested under a warrant the warrant will normally deal with the issue of bail. The police must follow the instructions on the warrant.
- - - - Any breaches of the conditions could result in the defendant being remanded in prison until trial
        
        However, statistics state that 1/3 of burglaries are committed by those on bail, and 12% of those bailed fail to appear at court,
    - - Magistrates Bail
        
        Residence
        
        Surety
        
        Bail Hostel
      - Police Bail
        
        Tag
        
        Report To Police Station
        
        Curfew
        
        Passport
  - - - Under s.17 those charged with a drug related offence and who test positive for a Class A drug will be denied bail
        
        S.19 also provides that if a suspect is already on bail whilst they commit another offence then they will be denied bail.
        
        A very key change in the law comes from the LASPO 2012
        
        Under this Act, a person who commits an offence against an ‘associated person’ in a domestic violence case will not get bail.
        
        The Act also contains the ‘no real prospects’ test.
        
        This test provides that if a suspect is not going to get a custodial sentence if convicted, then they should be granted bail
        
        If there is no real prospect that the person will even go to prison then it is logical, right and fair not to put them on remand in the first place.
        
        2 more items...
- - - - Section 4 of the Bail Act 1976 creates a statutory right to bail.
        
        This means that everyone has a right to be granted bail
        
        However, the law relating to bail must strike a balance between protecting and respecting the rights of the unconvicted defendants, as well as ensuring the public are protected from individuals who present a danger to public safety.
        
        The Custody Officer and Judge has an important role in striking a balance between these two conflicting rights.
- - - - When the court decides the issue of bail it must look at a range of factors as outlined in Schedule 1(9) Bail Act 1976, known as ‘Paragraph 9’ factors.
        
        These factors include:
        
        The character of the suspect, past record, associations and community ties.
        
        Their previous record towards bail.
        
        The nature and seriousness of the offence.
        
        The strength of the evidence against them.
      - Bail would not be granted in there were substantial grounds for believing that the suspect would:
        
        Fail to surrender to bail
        
        Interfere with witnesses or otherwise obstruct the course of justice
        
        Commit another offence while on bail
        
        The suspect needs to be kept in custody for their own protection
        
        There is a further exception under LASPO 2012, when there are substantial grounds for believing that the defendant would, if released, commit an offence against an ‘associated person’ in a domestic violence case.
- - - - The ECtHR agreed that we should be entitled to make an application and that the blanket ban was a breach of Article 5 and the law was weighted in favour of the protection of the public.
        
        This led to a change in the law under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 which provides that anyone, irrespective of the offence with which they are charged, can make a bail application.