Releasing suspects without conditions ‘is risk to public’
THOUSANDS of crime suspects are being released by police without restrictions, potentially putting victims and the public in danger, research suggests.
In 2017, the law was changed in an attempt to limit the amount of time a person spends on bail to 28 days. This offered police the chance to instead release a suspect under investigation (RUI) for an unlimited period of time and without having to place restrictions on them. The number of people being released under investigation after being questioned by police has “dramatically increased”, leaving victims, witnesses and suspects “in limbo” and waiting months or even years for justice, the Law Society of England and Wales says.
The RUI process is being used for a “full range of crimes”, including murder, without a proper process for assessing risk to the public, research carried out by the body that represents lawyers suggests. Cases are at risk of “dragging on for unlimited lengths of time”, with RUI replacing bail “almost entirely”. Suspects released on bail must comply with conditions such as not contacting particular people.
Kay Richardson was murdered by Alan Martin, her estranged husband, last year after police released him under investigation. He had a history of domestic abuse.
Figures obtained under freedom of information laws suggest 7,932 people were released on bail in 2016-17 by Nottinghamshire Police, but just 562 in 2017-18, when the force released 4,728 people under investigation.
Thames Valley Police released 13,768 suspects on bail in 2016-17, but just 379 during the following year, while it released 11,053 under investigation.
Shortly after the law was changed, the Centre for Women’s Justice made a complaint to the police watchdog accusing forces of failing to use protective measures in cases of violence against females. This prompted the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) to issue fresh guidance to officers.
Chief Constable Darren Martland, NPCC lead on bail management, said: “The 2017 changes to bail … were a simplistic solution to a complex problem.
“We are concerned that a reduction in bail could mean missed opportunities to protect vulnerable people and put conditions on violent offenders that could prevent reoffending … We have opted to minimise any potential risk through the introduction of new guidance to police officers.”
Jenny Wiltshire, head of general crime at Hickman & Rose solicitors, said RUI had been intended to “end the “scandal of accused people having to wait months to clear their names, but had made the situation “far worse”.
“Not only are people released under investigation for longer than [on] bail, the absence of proper scrutiny means police do not keep suspects updated as to the progress of an investigation.”