The home secretary, Theresa May, is to limit the use of police bail to 28 days. Her decision marks a swift victory for the Justice Delayed Justice Denied campaign, which was backed by several newspapers, including the Guardian.
May will announce today an end to the system under which police are able to keep people on pre-charge bail for an unlimited length of time.
Under her proposals, bail would be capped at 28 days. Officers would only be permitted to extend the period in exceptional circumstances. To do so would require the approval of a magistrate or an officer with the rank of chief superintendent or higher.
Having called for this change earlier this month (in a letter here and a blog posting here) I’m not too happy about a police officer of any rank having the right to approve bail extension, but I do accept that it is a move in the right direction.
Moreover, it is also a welcome safeguard that all extension requests will have to be heard before a court every three months.
May’s decision is a vindication of the arguments advanced so cogently by the Justice Delayed Justice Denied campaign, an alliance of newspapers that also includes the Howard League for Penal Reform, the Law Society, Big Brother Watch and several individual lawyers, journalists, MPs and peers.
As I have previously pointed out, the media attention paid to the legal limbo that is police bail did follow its use against (mainly Sun) journalists. But the campaign’s launch occurred well after it could help them. It affects many, many more people, none of whom are connected to newspapers.
We discovered that more than 70,000 people are now on police bail, at least 5,000 of them for more than six months. And since the campaign’s launch many disturbing examples of its use (misuse) have come to light.
One, involving a 13-year-old boy on bail for more than 10 months, shocked all of us. Another, involving a head teacher on bail for a year after being falsely accused of a crime, was also outrageous.
The May reforms will end the injustice of suspects being on bail indefinitely, thereby placing people’s lives on hold.
She will announce an eight-week consultation and there are certain to be objections from police forces.
They should listen to the campaign’s spokesman (and former police chief), Brian Paddick, who said: ‘We are extremely pleased that the home secretary is closing down this discrepancy in the law which has seen far too many people stuck in legal limbo for far too long.
“It is a fundamental axiom that justice delayed is justice denied. This change in the law will right this wrong.”
He is so right. He, like me, signed the letter that set out the human cost of police bail:
“Innocent people have been left on pre-charge bail for years before their cases have been dropped or thrown out of court.
This is a scandal. Those on it have their careers put on hold. The mental anguish of not knowing what will happen to them is in itself a form of punishment without trial: the weight of suspicion grows heavier with each day.”
I salute Theresa May for seeing the light on this matter and being prepared to take on the police over a matter of civil and human rights.
