NCJ Number
109231
Journal
Police Studies Volume: 10 Issue: 4 Dated: (Winter 1987) Pages: 155-164
Date Published
1987
Length
10 pages
Annotation
In England and Wales, a defendant's pretrial status is decided at two main points -- the police bail decision and the subsequent court bail decision. While the latter decision has been the subject of considerable research, little is known about police bail practice. This paper utilizes data on over half a million defendants who were charged or summoned in England and Wales during 1981 to examine variations in police force bail practices.
Abstract
The study shows considerable police force variation in the use of bail but stresses the need to consider this decision within the wider context of force charge or summons policies. The results of logistic regression analyses suggest that, apart from a small number of custody-minded forces, variations in bail practices are adequately explained by a combination of caseload characteristics and the broader force police with regard to summons. (Publisher abstract)