A023 Management of Police Bail Procedure.
TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. PROCEDURE AIM... 3 2. APPLICABILITY... 3 2.1 Inclusions... 3 2.2 Exclusions... 3 3. PROCEDURE DETAIL... 3 4. TRAINING AND ACCREDITATION REQUIREMENTS... 10 5. ASSOCIATED DOCUMENTATION... 10 5.1 Legislation/ National Guidance... 10 5.2 Strategy/ Plan... 11 5.3 Policies... 11 5.4 Procedures... 11 5.5 Forms (National/ Local)... 11 6. WHO TO CONTACT ABOUT THIS PROCEDURE... 11 7. EQUALITY ANALYSIS... 11
1. PROCEDURE AIM 1.1.1 The purpose of this Procedure is to provide the necessary legislative and procedural guidance to custody officers in relation to the management of all elements of the granting of police bail. 1.1.2 This Procedure has been aligned and gives due regard to Authorised Professional Practice (APP) for Detention and Custody 1.1.3 A full index of the content of Detention and Custody APP is available. 2. APPLICABILITY 2.1 Inclusions 2.1.1 This Procedure applies to all staff whether employed full-time or part-time, fixed term, permanent, seconded or on a temporary basis who are employed by Bedfordshire Police. 2.1.2 This Procedure is also relevant to persons detained within Bedfordshire Police Custody Suites. 2.2 Exclusions 2.2.1 This Procedure does not apply to anyone who is not employed by Bedfordshire Police or detained by Bedfordshire Police. 3. PROCEDURE DETAIL 3.1 Bail to return to a police station (Sections 34(5), 37(2) and 47(3) of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984) Detainees should only be bailed for the minimum amount of time possible and the Custody Record should clearly show what has taken place and the reasons why it was necessary to bail. 3.2 Initial Bailing Procedure 3.2.1 Custody Officers must satisfy themselves that to release a prisoner on police bail is necessary rather than just convenient, taking into account the requirements of the investigation, the detention clock and the Code of Practice for the Victims of Crime. Suspect Managers / Supervisors will give clear directions as to any enquiries necessary, and this will inform Custody Officers when deciding the length of time for which bail is to be granted. 3.2.2 The emphasis must always be to keep bail length to an absolute minimum.
3.2.3 While taking into account shift patterns, Custody Officers should wherever possible keep the length of bail to a minimum and generally not bail for longer than for a maximum of three weeks, except in exceptional circumstances. Bail for longer periods must be authorised by an Inspector. It should be noted however, that bail periods for Persistent Young Offenders (PYOs) and Prolific and other Priority Offenders (PPOs) are shorter and the authority of an Inspector is required to extend these time limits. Similarly, if detainees are bailed whilst awaiting the results of forensic submission, an Inspector s authority will not be needed, but the reasons must still be recorded. 3.2.4 In all cases, the Officer in Charge must inform the Crime Management Unit with details of the bail in order that the Crime Management System can be updated. 3.2.5 If it is necessary to extend the period of bail because a result has not been received from the Forensic Science Service within the requisite period, the Investigating Officer must notify and obtain the authority of an officer of the rank of Inspector or above to extend the bail period. If the extension is granted, the Inspector authorising the variation / re-bail must update the NSPIS Custody Record and ensure completion of the relevant declaration. 3.2.6 The detainee can be notified by letter of the extension to bail. Custody Sergeants have been largely dependent on OICs to inform them of the bail length required, according to investigative enquiries outstanding. The attached Ready Reckoner for Effective Bail Management has been developed in partnership with Crime and Scientific Services and provides clear guidelines for length of bail required for a variety of bail reasons. Please can Custody Sergeants in particular familiarize yourselves with this guidance and use this to calculate and authorise bail lengths. 3.3 Request to re-bail where further enquiries are necessary. 3.3.1 It is the responsibility of the Officer in Charge to ensure all outstanding enquiries are completed prior to the return bail date. If an extension of bail is required, e.g. because further enquiries are necessary, the authority of an officer of Inspector rank or above must be obtained at least three clear days before the detainee is due to answer bail. Requests for authority less than this will NOT be authorised unless exceptional circumstances apply. The Inspector must satisfy themselves as to the reasons and necessity of extending the bail period. 3.3.2 The Inspector authorising the variation / re-bail must update the NSPIS Custody Record and ensure completion of the relevant declaration. 3.3.3 Once a variation / re-bail has been authorised, any further request to extend the bail period must be escalated and can only be authorised by an officer of the rank of Chief Inspector or above. 3.4 Failure to answer Bail
3.4.1 Investigating Officers must make every effort to ensure that they are available to deal with prisoners on bail return dates and must inform their supervisors in advance of any prisoners they have returning on bail. If the investigating officer is unable to attend for operational reasons, a supervisor must be informed in order that alternative arrangements can be made, either for another officer to deal or for consideration to be given to extending the bail date. 3.4.2 If an officer fails to attend to deal with a bail appointment, the Custody Officer will cause enquiries to be made in order to trace them. If this proves impossible and no other suitable arrangements can be made to deal with the prisoner, the Custody Record must be endorsed to that effect and a bail decision made on the facts available. The bail period should be for the shortest possible time; the presumption being that prisoners will only be re-bailed in exceptional circumstances. If no further action is considered an option then a Suspect Manager / Supervisor must be consulted prior to any final decision. 3.4.3 The Custody Officer will ensure that the officer s line manager and Chief Inspector are notified of the failure to attend. The notification will detail the circumstances and reasons if known, and how the prisoner was dealt with. The officer will be copied into the notification and be required to submit a report to their line manager and Chief Inspector explaining their failure to attend. The report will form part of the decision making process as to whether the officer should face disciplinary action. Disciplinary Action will be taken where an officer fails without good reason to deal with a detainee returning on bail. 3.5 New offences coming to light during period of bail. 3.5.1 When a detainee is on police bail and evidence concerning an unrelated offence comes to light, every effort should be made to arrest the offender at the earliest opportunity before the return bail date. The Custody Officer will ensure that a new Custody Record is created. 3.6 New evidence regarding the original offence(s) coming to light during the bail period 3.6.1 Where a person is on police bail and new evidence relating to that offence comes to light before the return bail date, consideration will be given to re-arresting the offender. The evidence must be such that an arrest before the return date is justified. The Custody Officer will ensure that a new custody record is created and the detention clock started afresh. It must be remembered that if a new custody record is created then the officer in the case will need to ensure that any crimes are linked to the new custody record. In addition, the PNC arrest/summons number (ASN) must be linked to the new custody reference and the ASN created at the time of the original arrest must be cross-referenced with the new one. 3.7 Bailing of Persistent Young Offenders (PYOs) and Prolific and Other Priority Offenders (PPOs) 3.7.1 Unless circumstances dictate otherwise, PPOs and PYOs should only be bailed for a maximum of three days. It is recognised however, that there will be occasions when it is necessary to bail for longer
periods e.g., identification issues, submission of forensic samples etc, in which case the following maximum periods should be adhered to: - 3 working days for fingerprint identification if this is impossible within 24 hours of arrest and there is insufficient evidence without the identification. 21 days where a submission to the Forensic Science Service (FSS) is required and there is insufficient evidence without the result. 14 days for identification procedures to be completed. 3.7.2 As soon as a need to bail a PYO or PPO for a forensic matter is identified, officers must liaise with their local Scenes of Crime Officer, who will provide guidance on the submission of samples to ensure that they are fast tracked appropriately. It is imperative that early identification of the need for forensic evidence is made to ensure items are turned around within the timescales. 3.7.3 If the results come back in advance of the bail return date, consideration must be given as to whether his provides sufficient new evidence to re-arrest the suspect or bring forward the bail date. 3.7.4 Bail for more than 3 days, whatever the reason, can only be granted on the authority of an Inspector who will ensure that reasons are fully recorded on the NSPIS Custody Record. 3.7.5 Attempts will be made to arrest within 24 hours those failing to answer bail and will continue until successful. 3.8 Bail with conditions (Section 37 PACE) 3.8.1 Bail conditions may only be considered where the threshold test has been passed or the case has been referred to the CPS for pre-charge advice and the duty prosecutor has determined that further enquiries require to be undertaken before a charging decision can be made. [Note: conditions cannot be imposed when a detainee is bailed under Section 34(5) of PACE]. 3.8.2 The conditions imposed must be exact, effective, and enforceable and they must be necessary to prevent the detainee from:- Failing to surrender to bail; Committing an offence on bail; or Interfering with witnesses or otherwise obstructing the course of Justice. 3.8.3 Having decided that there are conditions that would obviate the need to keep a detainee in custody, the Custody Officer must carefully consider how they are worded on the MG4A so that there can be no misinterpretation by the detainee, the legal representative or the court. 3.8.4 The MG4A must be completed in as much detail as possible. A copy should also be included in the case papers and a further copy should be sent to the Intelligence Unit to enable details to be circulated to local officers where this is appropriate.
3.9 Requests to vary bail conditions 3.9.1 If a detainee attends a police station requesting a variation in the conditions of bail, wherever possible the Custody Officer who imposed the original conditions should consider the request. If the original Custody Officer is not available, the officer making the decision should make themselves aware of all the facts of the case. 3.9.2 The options open to the custody officer are to: Cancel conditions; Vary conditions; or Impose further conditions. Detainees have the right to have their request to vary bail conditions considered by the court if they are unhappy with the police decision. 3.10 Prisoners bailed from other stations within Bedfordshire 3.10.1 Where an officer interviews a prisoner at another station within Bedfordshire and wishes to bail the prisoner back to their home station, they should phone the appropriate Custody Office to ensure that there is capacity on the proposed date and time. To ensure that the Custody Officer knows the prisoner will be attending, an entry should be made in the NSPIS bail diary. This applies equally if the officer is from another force (e.g. British Transport Police). 3.11 Prisoners bailed from other stations outside Bedfordshire 3.11.1 Where an officer interviews a prisoner at a station outside Bedfordshire and wishes to bail the prisoner back to their home station, they should phone the appropriate Custody Officer to ensure that there is capacity on the proposed date and time. The officer should be advised to bring a hard copy of the custody record when they attend. 3.12 No Further Action
3.12.1 In cases where Crown Prosecution Service advice has not been sought and where an Investigating Officer considers that there are grounds to take no further action (NFA) against a prisoner who has been bailed to return, the Suspect Manager / Supervisor must be consulted. The Suspect Manager / Supervisor will review the investigation and determine whether any further enquiries or actions are necessary. If the decision to NFA is still appropriate, the authority of the Custody Manager or other officer of Inspector rank or above must be sought. If the offence occurred outside Bedfordshire or the crime belongs to another force area (e.g. British Transport Police) then authority is not required neither is it required in cases where a drink -drive blood analysis is returned under the prescribed limit. 3.12.2 The officer will fill in the NFA pro forma showing the reasons for taking no further action and present it to the authorising officer for signature. It is essential that the reasons for NFA be noted on the crime system. 3.12.3 The Divisional Crime Manager will arrange for the NFA binder to be supervised on a regular basis. 3.12.4 In cases where CPS advice has been sought, the CPS Duty Prosecutor must make the decision t take no further action. This is essential to allow the case to be finalised on the CPS Computer Case Management System (Compass). CPS must make the decision for all cases involving Persistent Young Offenders (PYOs) or Prolific and other Priority Offenders (PPOs). 3.13 Bail after charge (Section 38 Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984) 3.13.1 A most influential factor in determining Court bail is the bail decision made by police after charge, as Courts are unable to conduct detailed enquiries relating to bail. Therefore any enquiries made by police that have resulted in bail being refused, or granted but with conditions, should be recorded in the body of the custody record. This information should also be included on the MG7 as part of, or along with, police objections to bail. The quality of police MG7s greatly affects the ability of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to make representations when the Court is considering a defendant s application for bail. 3.13.2 There is a presumption under Section 38 of PACE and Article 5 of HRA that there is a right to bail. This does not detract from the duty of police to make all reasonable enquiries to determine if grounds exist to refuse bail. 3.13.3 There may be repercussions for Bedfordshire Police and individual officers if an incorrect bail decision is made, and this applies equally to detainees kept in custody when a release would be appropriate as to those released when a remand in custody is justified. Custody Officers must ensure that enquiries justifying unconditional bail are as robust as enquiries made when refusing bail or granting bail with conditions. Custody Officers will record the grounds for all bail decisions in the log of the appropriate custody record. 3.13.4 Investigating Officers are responsible for ensuring that the custody officer is provided with all information that may be relevant to the bail decision. It is essential that this information is as detailed as
possible. If the Custody Officer requires further information to make a bail decision, it will be the responsibility of the Investigating Officer to cause those enquiries to be made as soon as practicable. 3.14 Conditional Bail 3.14.1 Conditional bail may only be considered if grounds exist to refuse bail and the imposition of conditions would obviate the need to keep a detainee in custody. The conditions imposed must be exact, effective, and enforceable and they must be necessary to prevent the detainee from: - Failing to surrender to bail; Committing an offence on bail; or Interfering with witnesses or otherwise obstructing the course of justice. 3.14.2 Having decided that there are conditions that would obviate the need to keep a detainee in custody, the Custody Officer must carefully consider how they are worded on the MG4A so that there can be no misinterpretation by the detainee, the legal representative or the court. 3.14.3 The MG4A must be completed in as much detail as possible. A copy should also be included in the case papers and a further copy sent to the Divisional Intelligence Unit to enable the details to be circulated to local officers if appropriate. 3.15 Surrender of Passports 3.15.1 Where the surrender of a passport has been considered appropriate as a condition of bail, the passport must be seized before bail is granted. This will be a requirement regardless of whether bail is granted by the court or the police. 3.15.2 It is incumbent on the detained person to ensure that the passport is surrendered to the police. This principle equally applies where the court or the police have imposed the condition. 3.15.3 As soon as the passport is surrendered, and no other outstanding pre-conditions apply, bail will be granted and the person released. 3.16 Notification to the UK Passport Agency 3.16.1 When the passport has been surrendered it will be the responsibility of the Officer in the Case to immediately notify the United Kingdom Passport Agency using the Home Office IPS Surrender of Passport as Condition of Bail Form Form and e-mailing to JUSTICE.referral@ips.gsi.gov.uk The details will be placed on a STOP file (cross referenced with passport applications.) for a period of 6 months.this period can be extended if necessary but the Agency must be informed. When the bail
condition (surrender of passport) has been lifted the Agency must be informed by e mailing the Home Office IPS Notification of Removal of Bail Condition Form to the Agency at the e mail address already shown above. The Forms can be accessed on Force Forms (National Forms). Access here: National Forms Alternatively, access the forms directly here: Home Office Notification - Surrender of passport Home Office notification - removal of bail conditions 3.16.2 It is the responsibility of the OIC to inform the owner of the passport that it can be collected from the Police e.g. bail restriction lifted, case concluded etc. The passport should be collected within 60 days of notification to the owner. Failure by the owner to collect will result in the passport being returned to the Passport Agency who may destroy the document on receipt. 3.17 Bail Enquiries 3.17.1 Bail enquiries must be as comprehensive as possible for every detainee. A note will be made in the custody record of what enquiries have taken place. Details of these enquiries should be included on the MG7 along with any objections to bail to assist the Court with its bail decision. Courts do not have the time or facilities to conduct detailed checks on addresses, and information about checks undertaken by police may contradict claims made by defendants in court in relation to bail. 3.17.2 Officers visiting addresses to ascertain whether a detainee lives there or not must make a record of the enquiries in their pocket book or investigation log. Officers must be able to provide detailed information of what enquiries were made at an address so that Custody Officers can make fully informed decisions on bail. 4. TRAINING AND ACCREDITATION REQUIREMENTS N/A 5. ASSOCIATED DOCUMENTATION 5.1 Legislation/ National Guidance Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 Article 5 Human Rights Act 1998 Authorised Professional Practice (APP) for Detention and Custody
5.2 Strategy/ Plan 5.3 Policies A007 Corporate Custody Policy 5.4 Procedures 5.5 Forms (National/ Local) 6. WHO TO CONTACT ABOUT THIS PROCEDURE 6.1.1 The Head of Administration of Justice Department should be contacted in the first instance should there be any queries about this procedure. 7. EQUALITY IMPACT ASSESSMENT EQUALITY IMPACT ASSESSMENT Name of Sponsor Name of Author Description of proposal being analysed Date EIA started Date EIA finished Head of Criminal Justice Department Research Policy Officer Criminal Justice Department 4114 Management of Bail 15 March 2014 25 March 2014 This Equality Impact Assessment is being undertaken as a result of: Delete as appropriate A new or updated policy or procedure. Note For ease of use of this document, we will refer to all of the above as proposal STEP 1 Relevance The general duty is set out in section 149 of the Equality Act 2010. In summary, those subject to the Equality Duty must have DUE REGARD to the need to:
eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation; advance equality of opportunity between different groups; and foster good relations between different groups. Authors have a statutory requirement to have DUE REGARD to the relevant protected characteristics shown below, whilst taking a common sense approach age disability gender reassignment marriage & civil partnership* pregnancy and maternity race religion or belief sex sexual orientation *marriage and civil partnership the analysis applies only to the elimination of unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation. Section 23 of the Equality Act 2006 allows the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to enter into a formal agreement with an organisation if it believes the organisation has committed an unlawful act. Under section 31 of the Equality Act 2006, the EHRC can carry out a formal assessment to establish to what extent, or the manner, in which a public authority has compiled with the duty. Additional guidance can be found by accessing the EHRC website: http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/advice-and-guidance/public-sector-equality-duty/guidance-on-the-equalityduty/ Does this proposal have a direct impact on people who: a) are any part of the Police workforce (including volunteers)? b) reside in any part of England and Wales YES YES If NO to both questions If Yes to either question Explain why and give rational Continue through to Step 2 No Further Action and Return to Sponsor for Authorisation STEP 2 Consultation / Engagement You should engage with those people who have an interest in how you carry out your work generally, or in a particular proposal. This may include former, current and potential service users, staff, staff equality groups, trade unions, equality organisations and the wider community. In deciding who to engage, you should consider the nature of the proposal and the groups who are most likely to be affected by it. The proposal owner (Sponsor/Author) must be satisfied that consultation / engagement will take place with the relevant business lead and stakeholders.
This MUST include engagement with the following relevant groups: Equality and Diversity Specialist Staff Associations Staff Support Groups Relevant community groups and members of the public In addition, consider who else should you consult with internally and externally? Who might be affected? Does what you are considering further the aims of the general duty, to eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation; advance equality of opportunity between different groups; and foster good relations between different groups. Identify the risks and benefits where applicable, according to the different characteristics. Age (Consider elderly or young people) Disability Groups (Consider physical, sensory, cognitive, mental health issues or learning difficulties) Gender Reassignment (Consider transgender, Transsexual, Intersex) Marriage & Civil Partnership Positive Impact or Benefits Processes in place to deal with juvenile offenders Impact or Risks Pregnancy and Maternity Race and Ethnic origin includes gypsies and travellers.(consider language and cultural factors) Religious / Faith groups or Philosophical belief (Consider practices of worship, religious or cultural observance including non belief) Sex (Male, Female) Sexual orientation (Consider known or perceived orientation, lesbian, gay or bisexual)
Have you considered how this decision might affect work life balance? (Consider caring issues re: childcare & disability, safeguarding issues, environmental issues, socio economic disadvantage, and low income families.) Positive Impact or Benefits Impact or Risks STEP 3 Assessment Complete the EIA by analysing the effect of your proposal and detail the outcomes. What were the main findings from any consultation carried out? What feedback has been received? Using the information you have gathered and consultation that you have undertaken answer the following questions. This will help you to understand the effect on equality your proposal might have. Has the feedback indicated any problems that None need to be addressed? Describe and evidence any part of the proposal None which could discriminate Can the adverse impact identified be justified as N/A being appropriate and necessary? If so, state what the business case is: Where impact and feedback identified, what, if N/A anything can be done? What outcome will be achieved that demonstrates a positive impact on people? N/A STEP 4 - Monitoring and Review Equality analysis is an ongoing process that does not end once a document has been produced. What monitoring mechanisms do you have in Procedure will be monitored by Chief Inspector place to assess the actual impact of your Criminal Justice and Custody Inspectors proposal? Review Date: April 2015 First review must be no later than one year.
STEP 5 - Sign Off Once the Equality Impact Assessment is complete it should be signed off by the Proposal Sponsor. This sign off is confirmation that the analysis is accurate, proportionate and relevant and actions will be delivered as required. Approved by Senior Officer / Proposal lead Having considered the potential or actual effect of this proposal on equality, our assessment demonstrates that the proposal is robust and the evidence of our screening shows no potential for unlawful discrimination. We have taken all appropriate opportunities to advance equality and foster good relations between groups. Date: Name: Head of Criminal Justice