Under S.4 of the Bail Act 1976 there is a presumption that un convicted suspects will be given bail. This ties in with the fact that everyone is innocent until proven guilty. However, the general public have the right to be protected from criminals. This means that the criminal justice system must balance this against the freedoms of individuals. At present, the policy is leaning towards protection of the public. The defendant therefore, has a right to bail unless the court feels the suspect comes under one of the exceptions to the rule. Bail means a person is released under the duty to attend court or the police station at a given time where as remand in custody is when the defendant is not given bail but has to stay in prison while waiting for the next stage of the criminal process in his case. Remand on bail means that the defendant is allowed to be at liberty while waiting for the next stage of his case to take place.
The police can decide to release an arrested person or keep him in custody. Any person kept in custody after charge must be brought before a magistrate’s court ‘as soon as practicable’. However, the police can decide to release a suspect on bail. Police bail is particularly important as there is evidence to suggest that courts are influenced in their decisions about granting bail by whether the accused was initially granted bail by the police. If the bail is granted then the suspect is released under the duty to attend court or the police station at a given time.
In assessing these risks, the court may take account of the nature and seriousness of the offence and the probable sentence, along with the character, antecedents associations and community ties of the defendant. A court considers the question of bail must take into account any drug miss use by the defendant.
The courts are governed by the provisions found in the 1976 Bail Act and there is a presumptive right to bail under s.4 and it can only be refused on conditions set out in the Act. But the underlying doctrine is clear- unnecessary report to custody is as legally wrong as it is morally offensive. When it comes to deciding whether grounds exist for refusing bail, the courts take into account.
The Courts and police may refuse to give bail if
- Bail need not be granted where are substantial grounds for believing that, unless kept in custody the accused would fail to surrender bail
- Would commit on offence
- Interfere with witness otherwise obstruct the words of Justice
The courts can impose certain conditions with bails such as drug testing; having a curfew meaning you can only be out for a certain amount of hours and have to be back home at a certain time. The courts can also make you take out sureties and securities. A surety is a person who promises to pay the court a sum of money if the defendant on bail in a criminal case fails to turn up for the next stage of the proceedings. No money is actually paid at the time of making the promise; it is only payable if the defendant does not turn up. Securities is a payment made into court that will be forfeited if the accused facts to attend a court hearing.
A defendant refused bail, or who objects to the conditions under which it is offered, must be told the reasons for the decision and informed of their right to appeal. Technically, all suspects should be given bail since they have not been convicted yet, however, it is not always safe to give bail such because of what the defendant has been accused of. Therefore, the courts need to work out where to draw the line. Unfortunately, they don’t always get it right (e.g. Hagans / Weddell), so more recently the law seems to have swung more in favour of protecting the public. The accused will usually be allowed only one further bail application the court does not have to hear further applications unless there has been a change in circumstances. When the remand in custody is on the basis of insufficient information, this is not technically a refusal of bail, so the accused may still make two applications. Bail can be granted subject to conditions, such as that the accused obtain legal advice before their next court appearance. When the defendant is on remand they lose precious time they could be spending with their family before the case. Some people on average are on remand from between six to twelve months. One advantage of criminals being remand for the public are the public feel more safe when the criminal is in prison, for the government when criminals are in remand, the community people live in looks safe. Lastly when criminals are in remand the police also have one less criminal too worry out. 60% of those refused remand are finally acquitted or given non custodial bail.