Police chief in call for review of bail laws
Suspected criminals are being left free to commit offences or intimidate victims after the Government relaxed bail rules, the West Midlands top police officer has warned.
Chief Constable Dave Thompson called on ministers to reconsider the legislation, which he says has blocked police from imposing controls on people accused of crimes and reduced the chances of building a case against them.
The changes were enacted in April 2017 and limited police bail in the majority of cases to 28 days, meaning most suspects are now released without any conditions after being arrested.
Mr Thompson said the higher threshold for when a suspect can be bailed to return to a police station had lead to 'a significant reduction in the number of people on bail'.
"By not bailing a suspect, the police cannot impose bail restrictions which allow them to restrict their ability to offend or intimidate people," he said.
"I think it has a potential impact of reducing some control we can place over people who we may suspect of offences."
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In the West Midlands there were 2,018 people on bail in April 2017, compared to just 775 in the same month this year.
The new rules followed high profile cases such as that of radio presenter Paul Gambaccini, who was on bail for years while detectives carried out ‘fishing expeditions’ for complainants to come forward.
Mr Thompson said: "I don't think the changes have achieved any significant improvement in terms of people who may wait for long periods of time to know the outcome of an investigation.
"It certainly has impeded our ability to restrict potential offenders who may be on bail."
Mr Thompson said that under the new legislation, suspects classed as being 'under investigation' but not on bail were being charged by post, leading to less people turning up at court and more warrants being issued.
As a result senior officers were spending 'a considerable amount of time' reviewing bail cases, he added, while the 28 day bail limit was too short for some investigations to be completed.
Urging a rethink on the law, Mr Thompson said: "I am struggling to understand the benefits of the changes that have been imposed.
"We have received correspondence from ministers expressing concern about the number of people on bail nationally.
"I would like to see a review of the actual implications of the bail changes. I am struggling to understand the benefits of the changes that have been imposed."
