Pre-charge bail reform welcomed
15 January 2021
Changes to the pre-charge bail system should prevent people being held under investigation for long periods, says the chair of West Midlands Police Federation.
And Jon Nott, speaking as the Home Office published its response to a consultation on the issue, said the reform will also help cut red tape for police officers.
“This document sets out plans to increase the initial pre-charge bail period from 28 to 90 days,” says Jon, “Further extensions will then need to be signed off from an inspector or senior officer. These long overdue changes will mark a significant improvement on the current arrangements.”
While Home Secretary, former prime minister Theresa May pushed through a 28-day cap on pre-charge bail as part of the Policing and Crime Act in 2017 despite the Federation arguing against this move and predicting pre-charge bail would drop dramatically and more suspects would be released under investigation.
Figures released under Freedom of Information laws have borne this out, showing the number of suspected offenders released while still under investigation rose from 6,464 in 2016 to 97,473 in 2019. These included violent and sexual offenders as well as domestic abusers.
The latest package of reform will be called ‘Kay’s Law’ in memory of Kay Richardson who was murdered by her ex-partner after he was released under investigation for domestic abuse.
