Police powers to hold suspects on bail in UK clipped

LAHORE: Till mid December 2014, around 70,000 people were held on pre-charge bail in England, Wales and Northern Ireland each year, with more than 5,000 restricted for more than six months, but the police power to put criminal suspects in “legal limbo” by holding them on bail for an unlimited period was restricted to 28 days on March 23, 2015 when British Home Secretary Theresa May had announced a package of reforms, a study conducted by the Jang Group and Geo Television Network shows.
By May 28, 2013, this number of people on pre-charge bail had rested at 57,428, of which some 3,172 had been waiting for more than six months for a decision on charges in 34 of the 44 police forces across the United Kingdom.
This research, which has taken to account the data obtained by a BBC Radio 5 through a Freedom of Information request about two years ago, archives of top British newspapers like the Telegraph and the Independent etc, shows that by May 2013, there was no limit on how long a person could be kept on police bail and there have been a number of high-profile cases of people who have been held waiting on police bail for a lengthy period.
This is what the “Telegraph” had stated in its December 18, 2014 edition: “A number of newspaper groups also backed the reforms, which follow a number of high profile cases. Freddie Starr, the comedian, and Paul Gambaccini, the DJ, were held on pre-charge bail for 19 months and 12 months respectively before historic allegations of sexual abuse were dropped.
Another example is that of the former “News of the World” Executive Neil Wallis, who was arrested on suspicion of phone hacking in 201, had remained on bail for 19 months before being told he would not face any charges.
Finally, on March 23, 2015, British Home Secretary Theresa May had announced a package of reforms related to the police use of pre-charge bail.
This reform package had included setting up a limit that pre-charge bail would not last longer than 28 days, with extensions permissible only under specific circumstances, and court oversight for any extension beyond three months.
Under the new system, the police would make the initial decision to release a suspect on bail and that decision would be reviewed by a Superintendent after 28 days, at which point they could authorise further bail, up to a total of three months, in exceptional circumstances.
Any application to extend pre-charge bail beyond three months would have to be approved by a magistrate.This is just one of a range of measures the Home Office proposes to take forward following a recent public consultation.
Other British measures include: Setting a presumption to release without bail, with bail only being imposed when it is both necessary and proportionate;Establishing a framework for the regular review by the courts of pre-charge bail;Introducing formal guidance on the imposition of conditions; and
Collecting consistent data on the use of pre-charge bail as part of the Annual Data Requirement process and publishing it.These reforms would result in the greatest reform of police bail legislation since it was passed 30 years ago.
The British Home Secretary Theresa May had said: “I have been clear that it is simply not acceptable for individuals to spend months and in some cases years on pre-charge bail, with no system of review, only for charges never to be brought against them. I will bring forward legislation to set a clear 28-day limit for pre-charge bail in all but the most complex cases and introduce regular scrutiny from the courts for any application to extend pre-charge bail beyond three months.”She had asserted: “These measures, alongside a new presumption to release without bail at all, will drive down the inappropriate use of pre-charge bail and ensure that decisions to release suspects with pre-charge bail conditions are taken only where it is necessary or proportionate. The changes that do not require legislation, such as the production of guidance and the collection of data, will be taken forward straight away.”