Law and Rights
Following the arrest of an individual, the Police are empowered to release the individual on bail. Such bail may have onerous conditions. The normal life of the individual may be seriously affected by such conditions. If the individual is on such bail for an extended period then it may be tantamount to some form of "extrajudicial" penalty. The power of the Police to impose bail conditions stems from section 27 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994. Conditions imposed by an officer may be varied by the magistrates court on application by the suspect (section 47(1E) PACE).
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has announced that in relation to an allegation of unauthorised computer access, an individual has been cautioned for an offence contrary to Section 1 of the Computer Misuse Act 1989. This follows the arrest, some two years ago, of Times journalist Mr Patrick Foster as part of Operation Tuleta. The Guardian 15th August has covered this story. The lawyer and journalist David Allen Green has also extensively covered this case (and others) whilst writing for The New Statesman - e.g. 29th August 2012 Nightjack: arrest made and 12th April 2012 The Times and Nightjack: an anatomy of a failure.
Although there
is ordinarily a maximum of 24 hours that an arrested person can be questioned without charge, separate sessions of questioning not exceeding a total of 24 hours can be spread out over an unlimited period of time. (In certain situations, questioning may take place for longer than 24 hours). The ability of the Police to "stop and start" the "PACE Clock" was the subject of legislation following the Hookway case in 2011 (previous post) - Police (Detention and Bail) Act 2011 (amending section 47 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984). [Sidenote: Almost 3 years later, the government maintained and publicly available legislation database has not yet caught up with this important amendment to section 57].
The continuation of bail for lengthy periods has not been without comment. For instance, as reported by The Guardian 29th September 2013, LIBERTY has called for a 6 month time limit to be imposed. The Law Society called for a 28 day limit - BBC 28th May 2013.
As quoted in The Guardian article 15th August, Mr Foster stated:
.... that in order to bring this ?regrettable episode to an end?, he decided to accept the offer of a police caution. He described the ?heavy handed police investigation? into something that happened when he was a 24-year-old junior reporter as a ?nightmare?. Foster said he did not know whether he would have been in charged if he had rejected the caution, but added that he could not ?in good conscience? have risked putting his family ?through many more months of heartache, and mounting legal costs?. Foster has been unable to pursue his career as a journalist while in legal limbo over the past two years. ?No one should ever have to suffer the extrajudicial punishment of two years on police bail, and my sympathies are with others still languishing in this invidious position,? he said.
It is surely high time this sort of injustice was brought to an end ..............!
Crown Prosecution Service - Bail
- Arrested And Refused To Give Names. Daily Mail Complains That They Got Unconditional Bail.
The Daily Mail (7th November) carried an article about three "rioters" who were arrested and who refused to give their names to the Police. According to the article, they had their fingerprints, DNA and photographs taken and spent 48 hours...
- Police (detention And Bail) Bill
UPDATE 25th July: The appeal to the Supreme Court has been withdrawn in the light of the legislation enacted by Parliament. UPDATE 13th July: Police (Detention and Bail) Act 2011 UPDATE 7th July: The Bill has passed through the House of...
- For How Long Can The Police Hold Me?
Updated 30th June, 1st July, 2nd, 4th and 5th July: 4th July 2011: A Police Detention and Bail Bill is to be rushed through the House of Commons this coming Thursday and the House of Lords early next week. It will give the Police...
- Police Powers - Bail
A man was held by Police for questioning in connection with the Joanna Yeates murder. Later, he was released on bail. He has not been charged and the basis for the bail has not, so far as I know, been published. I do not wish to...
- Detention Without Charge
Within England and Wales, the detention for questioning by the Police of arrested suspects is subject to certain time limits and these are set out in the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 - PACE. The powers of "Police Constables" to arrest without...
Law and Rights
The scandal of "endless" Police bail
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has announced that in relation to an allegation of unauthorised computer access, an individual has been cautioned for an offence contrary to Section 1 of the Computer Misuse Act 1989. This follows the arrest, some two years ago, of Times journalist Mr Patrick Foster as part of Operation Tuleta. The Guardian 15th August has covered this story. The lawyer and journalist David Allen Green has also extensively covered this case (and others) whilst writing for The New Statesman - e.g. 29th August 2012 Nightjack: arrest made and 12th April 2012 The Times and Nightjack: an anatomy of a failure.
Although there
is ordinarily a maximum of 24 hours that an arrested person can be questioned without charge, separate sessions of questioning not exceeding a total of 24 hours can be spread out over an unlimited period of time. (In certain situations, questioning may take place for longer than 24 hours). The ability of the Police to "stop and start" the "PACE Clock" was the subject of legislation following the Hookway case in 2011 (previous post) - Police (Detention and Bail) Act 2011 (amending section 47 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984). [Sidenote: Almost 3 years later, the government maintained and publicly available legislation database has not yet caught up with this important amendment to section 57].
The continuation of bail for lengthy periods has not been without comment. For instance, as reported by The Guardian 29th September 2013, LIBERTY has called for a 6 month time limit to be imposed. The Law Society called for a 28 day limit - BBC 28th May 2013.
As quoted in The Guardian article 15th August, Mr Foster stated:
.... that in order to bring this ?regrettable episode to an end?, he decided to accept the offer of a police caution. He described the ?heavy handed police investigation? into something that happened when he was a 24-year-old junior reporter as a ?nightmare?. Foster said he did not know whether he would have been in charged if he had rejected the caution, but added that he could not ?in good conscience? have risked putting his family ?through many more months of heartache, and mounting legal costs?. Foster has been unable to pursue his career as a journalist while in legal limbo over the past two years. ?No one should ever have to suffer the extrajudicial punishment of two years on police bail, and my sympathies are with others still languishing in this invidious position,? he said.
It is surely high time this sort of injustice was brought to an end ..............!
Crown Prosecution Service - Bail
- Arrested And Refused To Give Names. Daily Mail Complains That They Got Unconditional Bail.
The Daily Mail (7th November) carried an article about three "rioters" who were arrested and who refused to give their names to the Police. According to the article, they had their fingerprints, DNA and photographs taken and spent 48 hours...
- Police (detention And Bail) Bill
UPDATE 25th July: The appeal to the Supreme Court has been withdrawn in the light of the legislation enacted by Parliament. UPDATE 13th July: Police (Detention and Bail) Act 2011 UPDATE 7th July: The Bill has passed through the House of...
- For How Long Can The Police Hold Me?
Updated 30th June, 1st July, 2nd, 4th and 5th July: 4th July 2011: A Police Detention and Bail Bill is to be rushed through the House of Commons this coming Thursday and the House of Lords early next week. It will give the Police...
- Police Powers - Bail
A man was held by Police for questioning in connection with the Joanna Yeates murder. Later, he was released on bail. He has not been charged and the basis for the bail has not, so far as I know, been published. I do not wish to...
- Detention Without Charge
Within England and Wales, the detention for questioning by the Police of arrested suspects is subject to certain time limits and these are set out in the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 - PACE. The powers of "Police Constables" to arrest without...