Bail hostels need not tell neighbours

Residents in the West Midlands are not going to be consulted over the creation of controversial bail hostels for dangerous criminals on their doorsteps.

A mixture of convicts on early release and suspects who are awaiting trial are being put up in private homes in residential streets across the country because the region's jails are too full.

The Government has signed a multi-million pound contract with a private company called ClearSprings to ease the overcrowding which also provides staff to look after the inhabitants of the properties, therefore offering a 'stable' address.

The make-shift bail hostels have already been set up in Wolverhampton, Walsall, Dudley, West Bromwich and Staffordshire since the scheme started in 2007.

But while local authorities, the police and probation services are going to be consulted in areas where there are plans to create more hostels, the public is denied a voice.

Violent and sex offenders, arsonists, criminals considered a risk to the public, foreign nationals liable to deportation and prisoners with a history of absconding while on licence or breaching their curfew orders are not a part of the scheme.

But it could include burglars and muggers.

Most people living in the same street have no idea of the background of their new neighbours.

Only those living immediately next door are informed by post – once a site has been given the go-ahead. Councils have criticised the lack of "genuine consultation" over the hostels, and have also accused ministers of "disregarding" the wishes of residents over where they are located.

But the Local Government Association, which agreed the new consultation process with the Ministry of Justice, defended the decision.

He said: "This protocol puts in place a series of undertakings, to ensure bail accommodation will be based in the right places and with the right level of consultation."