The Introduction of Street Bail - Essay Example

? 'Not Necessarily a Trip to the Police Station: The Introduction of Street Bail' In 2003, a new amendment to the previous law on criminal justice was passed. From then onwards, certain classes of offenders have been excused from being brought in the police stations. Instead, they could be bailed on the scene of crime by a police officer. However, Hucklesby criticizes this policy for its wide discretion and incompetence of the police officers to deal with such responsibility. As a result, the new amendment will increase a number of arrests. Unfortunately, even in 2012, until more research is conducted to collect data on duration of street bail, Hucklesby’s claims remain valid. Street bail was introduced in the British legal system in 2003. The amendment came into effect in 2004.1 Street bail was designed to speed up justice in the British legal system by enabling officers to spend more time collecting evidence, and less on bringing the suspect in the police station to bail him or her out a few minutes later.2 There were estimates in 2004 that the new bail system would be economical, as it would provide additional 390,000 hours of police officers’ time annually to focus on investigating the crimes.3 Guidance on Street Bail was implemented in 2006. The guide aimed to direct implementation of the Sections 30A to 30D of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE), as amended by Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003. 4 While making a decision whether to bring the offender in or not, the police officer must consider following facts: whether the offender has a history of violating the bail, whether the offender could jeopardize the evidence crucial to the judicial system if left free, whether the offender could continue offending if left free, and whether data are correct regarding the address of the offender and the nature of the offense. 5 In Northern Ireland, an equivalent document was published as well.6 However, Hucklesby argues that the pre – charge bail system only discourages justice. The nature of the offense, or the ability to jeopardize evidence, is left to the interpretation of the police officer. As a result, Hucklesby argues, more arrests will take place, instead of fewer.7 Moreover, in cases where police officers will not be willing to pursue the investigation, the offender will not be turned in.8 Cape too agrees with Hucklesby’s arguments, due to the inexperience of the arresting officers and a low threshold for arrest and long bail periods, where suspects will not be able to present their own story.9 Some argue otherwise. There are arguments that even in the light of the new approach to bail, PACE “continues to use its ‘fundamental balance’ approach,”10 which was abused in the past. PACE’s approach is to protect the rights of the suspect, while allowing for the police officers to gather enough evidence to identify the offender.11 One of its aims is also to decrease detention time. 12 A famous case portraying the misuse of power before the street bail on behalf of law enforcement officers is the Birmingham pub bombings, where six suspects were wrongfully convicted.13 The suspects were treated outside their protection system and tortured.14 Moreover, they were interrogated partly also outside of the police station, which violates the rules of PACE.15 The new approach to bail on street attempts to avoid such problems through allowing suspects freedom while conducting investigation. However, the power remains in hands of the arresting police officers. Though PACE aims to decrease the detention time, Skinns has found evidence that detention time has been increasing back to the pre – PACE level.16 In 1986, the mean detention time was over four hours, whereas in 1990 – 3 it increased to over six hours. 17 In 1979, before PACE, the mean detention time was over ten hours. 18 Moreover, police investigation is still a problem. Skinns found that gathering evidence is still a problem in the British criminal system, and it rests with “contacting the investigating officers, time spent waiting for officers to attend or their notes to arrive from a different police station.” 19 Though, other factors too contribute to long detention times.20 Skinns concluded that power mostly lies with the police, as opposed to the suspect and other parties, such as doctors and social workers.21 Cape agrees, arguing that police officers are not subject to the same scrutiny as bail officers at the police station, thus leaving a window of opportunity for corruption and arbitrary decision making. 22 The legislative development went in the direction of allotting police officers with more power. Police officers became endowed with authority to arrest involved in any criminal offense and if there is reason to believe the person is dangerous or is in danger.23 According to the Police and Justice Act of 2006, the police officers became endowed with the authority to impose conditional bail on street bail. Section 30A of Bail elsewhere than at a police station was adjusted so that instead of prohibiting any condition other than to appear at the police station, the amendment allowed for conditional bail.24 The goal is to ensure the suspect does not interfere with the law by disturbing the witnesses, running away or destroying evidence. 25 Some protection is offered to the suspect under the Police and Justice Act 2006. The suspect is protected from being forced to reside in a bail hostel. 26 Moreover, the suspect must be informed about the condition, as well as the possibility of variations on the condition under the amendment to section 30B of Bail elsewhere than at the police station.27 Thus, a suspect may discuss the variation with the bail officer. Cape diverges on the latter point with Corre and Wolchover, as well as Colvin et al.28 As already mentioned, Cape argues that street bail is subject to lengthy procedures, where an application for a variation is subject to a lengthy time period of waiting and inability to present one’s own case. 29 Corre and Wolchover disagree. They argue that Cape’s argument is not well grounded in facts, as a suspect is entitled to a speedy review: “The opportunity to apply to a court for speedy review surely negates the complaint that the bailed person may be subject to restrictions on his liberty for a relatively lengthy period without being fully informed of the allegation or being able to put his side of the matter.”30 However, practitioners by 2011 became concerned about lengthy procedures.  The chairman of the Law Society’s criminal law committee, Richard Atkinson, argued in 2011 that there are concerns that the police are endowed with too much power as they can re-bail pre – charge and thus do not need to expedite their investigation.31 Colvin et al. argue that conditions serve as punishment before indictment.32 A consultation paper by the Northern Ireland Law Commission indicates that justice remains obstructed in the UK. 33 An actual breach must be committed for an arrest without warrant to be valid in Northern Ireland.34 The Police and Justice Act 2006 contains an amendment to 30D section by stating that the arresting office (constable), must have “reasonable grounds for suspecting that the person has broken any of the conditions of bail.”35 The pre – charge bail can be disrupted without notice and without hard evidence to support such a decision, again proving the point made by Hucklesby. However, improvements are present. The pre – charge bail, according to the ruling in the R v. Salford Magistrate’s Court, 36 can lead to detention only in presence of new evidence, but further detention can only be used in cases where street bail was not used: that is, where some detention time is left at disposal. This decision was supported by the Police (Detention and Bail) Act of 2011.37 Thus, newest development can be said to be in favour of street bail, as the suspect cannot be detained without new evidence, unless one fails to surrender to bail. Victims too have rights under street bail. According to Criminal Justice Department, “[a]ll officers must notify all victims of a suspect’s release on street bail, reasons and any relevant conditions within one working day.”38 Thus, victims are informed about the whereabouts of the suspect. In short, street bail has provided suspects with flexibility. Thus, in case the suspect is innocent, one does not have to wear the stigma that comes along with an arrest. However, long arrests, little accountability on behalf of the arresting officer and the evidence that arrests have not declined, despite the new possibility, or that detention times have not decreased due to the increased amount of time at disposal to investigate evidence, are worrying results. They indicate that the power allotted to the police is abused. However, until more field research is conducted, this conjecture will remain based on weak evidence. Research conducted by the Law Society should indicate whether police officers abuse street bail in order to retain suspects indefinitely at their disposal, instead of expediting the procedure.39 So far, most literature agrees with Hucklesby’s claims. Victims are protected under street bail, but this is insufficient to dismiss Hucklesby’s claims. Bibliography Amendments to PACE and PACE Codes of Practice: Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 and Drugs Act 2005 Baksi C, ‘Police “Abusing” Bail Rules’ (2011) Law Society Gazette accessed 11 July 2012 Bihler R, Miscarriages in the British Legal System (GRIN 2009) Cape E, ‘Police bail and the decision to charge: recent developments and the human rights deficit’ (2007) 7 Archbold News 6 Colvin M, Hopkins A and Cooper J, Human Rights in the Investigation and Prosecution of Crime (Oxford University Press 2009) Cownie F, Bradney A and Burton M, English Legal System in Context (Oxford Univeristy Press 2007) Corre N and Wolchover D, Bail in Criminal Proceedings (3edn, Oxford University Press 2004) Criminal Justice Act 2003: Bail elsewhere than at a Police Station (HO 061/2003) Criminal Justice (NI) Order 2003 Criminal Justice Department, Devon & Cornwall Police - Policy & Procedure (D8 Bail, 2012) Derbyshire Constabulary, Guidance on Street Bail (220305 v3, 2011) Essex Police, Procedure: Street Bail (E 0205, 2011) Home Office, Street Bail: an Alternative to Immediate Detention (Policing Bureaucracy Taskforce, 2004) Hodgson J, ‘Adding Injury to Injustice: The Suspect at the Police Station. Journal of Law and Society’ (1994) 21 The Royal Commission on Criminal Justice accessed 9 July 2012 Hucklesby A, 'Not Necessarily A Trip To The Police Station: The Introduction Of Street Bail' (2004) Crim LR 803  Northern Ireland Law Commission, Consultation Paper Bail in Criminal Proceedings (NILC 07, 2010) Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 Police and Justice Act 2006 Police (Detention and Bail) Act 2011 Police Service of Northern Ireland, Service Procedure: Street Bail (SP 4/2005 as amended). R v. Salford Magistrate’s Court [2011] EWHC 1578 Skinns L, ‘Stop the Clock? Predictors of Detention without Charge in Police Custody Areas’ (2010) 10 Criminology and Criminal Justice 303 < http://crj.sagepub.com/content/10/3/303.abstract > accessed 10 July 2012 The Law Society, Call for evidence: lengthy pre-charge police bail periods (2012) The Law Society accessed 11 July 2012 Read More