Bail

BAIL

• Bail is where is a person is released after arrest and can remain at liberty until the next stage of their case.
• Police can grant bail under PACE 1984 can be given PRIOR to charge + FOLLOWING charge but must be before the 1st magistrates court hearing
• The custody officer chooses to grant or refuse bail at police station
• --> if the suspects name + address cannot be discovered
• --> must follow normal principles of BAIL ACT 1976

Slide 2

• In court bail is a major consideration in early administrative hearings in the Magistrates court.
• 2 types of bail:
• - Unconditional --> where the defendant has only one condition which is to attend court at a specified time.
• - Conditional --> given when risks in giving conditional bail --> condition imposed will depend on risk factors involved

Section 4 of Bail Act 1976

• States that there is a general right to bail -- however it may bot be granted if there are substantial grounds for believing that the defendant released on bail would:
• 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) if court believe defendant should be kept in custody for his/her protection

Factors to consider...

• N- Nature and seriousness of the offence
• E- (strength of) Evidence against him/her
• S- Suspects: character, past record, community ties
• W- Whether the defendant has failed to answer to bail before

Bail Conditions

• - surety for bail
• - curfew or tag
• - reporting to police station on a regular basis
• - surrendering passport (done by court)

Other acts that govern bail

• Crime + disorder Act 1998 - serious offences
• --> s56 states that bail will only be granted if there are exceptional circumstances for serious offences e.g - murder, rape and manslaughter where defendant has already served a custodial sentence for much an offence in the past.
• S14 of the criminal justice act 2003 - offences on bail
• --> a person over 18 who commits an alleged offence whilst on bail cannot get bail for that offence while the court is satisfied that there is no significant risk of him/her committing another offence while on bail.