NCJ Number
208259
Date Published
August 2004
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This article reports outcome statistics of bail refusals in New South Wales resulting from the Bail Amendment Act 2002.
Abstract
Previous research has underscored the problem of defendants failing to appear before courts in New South Wales. The failure to appear rate was highest for those with previous convictions and multiple concurrent offenses. In response, the Bail Amendment Act 2002 reduced the availability of bail for some categories of offenders. Since its commencement in July 2002, the Act has increased the bail refusal rates for defendants appearing in New South Wales courts by 7 percent. This increase in the bail refusal rate has been highest for those with prior convictions (10.3 percent), for those with multiple concurrent offenses (7.3 percent), and among those who have previously failed to appear (15.5 percent). The bail refusal rate has remained stable among defendants with no prior convictions and among juvenile defendants. The bail refusal rate has increased 14.4 percent for Indigenous adults, while the bail refusal rate for non-Indigenous adults only increased 7 percent, possibly due to the high proportion of Indigenous defendants with prior criminal convictions. Finally, since the commencement of the Act, the rate of failure to appear in court has fallen 18.4 percent in local courts and 46.4 percent in higher courts. Tables, figures, references