{"value":{"id":1167916,"memberId":4311,"member":null,"memberRole":"The Minister of State, Home Office","uin":"HLWS90","dateMade":"2019-11-05T00:00:00","answeringBodyId":1,"answeringBodyName":"Home Office","title":"Pre-charge Bail","text":"<p>My rt hon Friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department (Priti Patel) has today made the following Written Ministerial Statement:</p><p>This government is fully committed to protecting the public, and ensuring the police have the powers they need. As such, today I am announcing that I intend to review</p><p>pre-charge bail legislation to ensure we have a system which more effectively prioritises the safety of victims and witnesses and the management of suspects.</p><p> </p><p>Pre-charge bail enables the police to release a suspect from custody, usually subject to conditions, while officers continue their investigation or await charging decision. The Policing and Crime Act 2017 “the Act” introduced reforms to pre-charge bail to address legitimate concerns that suspects were spending too long under restrictive conditions with no oversight or redress.</p><p> </p><p>Specifically, the Act introduced (in relation to pre-charge bail): a presumption against use unless necessary and proportionate; clear timescales, and senior police and judicial oversight of its use and extension.</p><p> </p><p>Since 2017 the use of pre-charge bail has decreased, and the number of individuals released without bail, or “released under investigation”, has also increased.</p><p> </p><p>Furthermore, the demands on the police service have also changed. Concerns have been raised that pre-charge bail is not consistently being used in instances where it may be necessary to effectively manage suspects and protect victims and witnesses.</p><p> </p><p>The review will also look at how legislative frameworks around pre-charge bail can more effectively:</p><p> </p><ol><li>support the police in the timely management of investigations, whether released on bail or without bail (“released under investigation”);</li><li>respect the rights of suspects, victims and witnesses to timely decisions and updates;</li><li>support the timely progression of cases to courts; and</li><li>how existing rules may be made simpler and more flexible in design to support effective operational decisions</li></ol>","house":"Lords","noticeNumber":0,"hasAttachments":false,"hasLinkedStatements":true,"linkedStatements":[{"linkedStatementId":1167902,"linkType":"JointStatement","linkDate":"2019-11-05T00:00:00"}],"attachments":[]},"links":[{"rel":"self","href":"/Statements/1167916","method":"GET"}]}