NCJ Number
175959
Date Published
1998
Length
102 pages
Annotation
The aim of the Bail Process Project in England was to improve the quality, accuracy, and timeliness of the information available to remand decision makers so they could better assess the risk of offending on bail.
Abstract
Interagency working groups were set up in five court areas in 1992. Each group studied the remand process in its own area and identified problems that affected the information available to police custody officers, Crown Prosecutor Service personnel, and magistrates when they made a pretrial decision or recommendation on bail or custody. The groups found the early availability of the defendant's criminal record was a problem in most areas. All five areas carried out some training of magistrates in risk assessment and ways of improving magistrate awareness of bail hostel facilities in the area were explored. Three areas amended the wording of bail conditions of residence or curfew to oblige defendants to present themselves in person to police custody officers monitoring their compliance. In two areas, court clerks started to keep a record of representations made in remand decisions so future benches would know the reasons why earlier decisions had been made. Case tracking data collected on cases involving bail or custody decisions in the five areas over 3-month periods in 1993 and 1994 showed the proportion of defendants granted court bail who were convicted of an offense committed while they were on bail was reduced in two areas and changed only slightly or not at all in the other three areas. Rates of offending while on police bail after charge showed a small decrease overall from 9 percent to 8 percent. Defendants with higher rates of offending while on court bail included individuals with no fixed abode and individuals charged with car theft or burglary, who were 17 years of age and under, who had served a previous custodial sentence, who had a previous record of breaching bail, and who were unemployed. Defendants with lower rates of offending while on court bail included individuals who were employed, who were charged with assault, and who were 21 years of age and older. Additional information on study methods and findings and on bail provisions of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act of 1994 are appended. References and tables