Police bail ruling helps no one, says Kirwans head of crime Nama Zarroug
THE hugely controversial court ruling which severely restricts the police’s ability to detain suspects for questioning helps no-one.
On the one hand, the ruling will make it much harder to keep track of suspects accused of serious crimes who will no longer be subject to stringent bail conditions.
But, equally, on the other hand, some of the most vulnerable members of society who find themselves accused of crimes will also find the police far more reluctant to release them on bail while they carry out their investigations, keeping them under lock and key for the maximum 96 hours suspects can be held in custody.
The ruling by a district judge in Salford, which was upheld by the High Court, overturned 25 years of an interpretation of a law under which suspects could be released on police bail and recalled for questioning weeks or even months later, as long as the total time in detention was less than the 96 hours.
The ruling means police forces are only allowed to hold suspects for up to 96 hours continuously before they either have to charge or release, and any time spent on bail will count towards the 96 hours. With more than 85,000 people on bail at any one time, the chaos caused by the ruling is immense, and it is imperative that Parliament gets to grips with the situation quickly to protect everyone caught up in this sorry mess.
