Hundreds kept in limbo by police bail

NEARLY 900 people have been on bail for more than six months after being arrested by Yorkshire’s largest police force, new figures have revealed.
Hundreds have been on bail for more than six months after being arrested by West Yorkshire PoliceHundreds have been on bail for more than six months after being arrested by West Yorkshire Police
Hundreds have been on bail for more than six months after being arrested by West Yorkshire Police

Information released by West Yorkshire Police has revealed that 3,979 people are on bail in the county, putting the force second only behind the Metropolitan Police.

A total of 859 have been on bail for six months or more in West Yorkshire, only 51 less than the London force and several times more than other comparable forces. The figures have prompted fears that police in West Yorkshire are holding off on charging suspects because they do not have the resources to bring cases to court any quicker.

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Philip Goldberg, a partner at Leeds law firm Lester Morrill, said he had a client in West Yorkshire who wanted to plead guilty to sexual offences but was only charged earlier this month after being investigated for a year. He claimed the number of cases where suspects are kept on bail for long periods was “alarming”, though some cases took longer due to the amount of scientific evidence being obtained and data analysed.

He said: “I do get the feeling, certainly with bail extending for over six months, that West Yorkshire Police do not have sufficient funds to deal with cases expeditiously or a culture has grown up where they put off until tomorrow what they could do now.

“I can’t see why anyone, for a simple offence, should be on bail for more than one month. The likelihood is that the police are trying to avoid having to be case-managed by the court by keeping people on bail. People who are not brought before the courts still want to prove their innocence and they might have this hanging over their heads for a long period of time.”

Across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, more than 57,000 people are currently on police bail. The total is likely to be much higher as 10 of the 44 police forces, including South Yorkshire and North Yorkshire, did not respond to Freedom of Information Act requests from the BBC. Humberside Police have 730 people on police bail, including one person for 814 days.

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Across the country, the figures include one case of an individual who has not been told whether or not they will be charged despite having been arrested and bailed by the Met three years and seven months ago.

The Law Society of England and Wales says people are often left “in the wilderness” while police decide whether or not they should be charged with a crime. It has called for a review of police bail practices and said there should be a statutory time limit, after which the police must apply for an extension.

Superintendent Dickie Whitehead, of West Yorkshire Police, said the force arrested nearly 70,000 people every year.

He added: “Police bail is a vital administrative procedure in helping us to manage those who are subject to further investigation and prosecution. In West Yorkshire, we routinely bail people where further investigation is required. The law also allows the police to release a person without bail and then re-arrest them when the investigation reveals new evidence.

“Compared with other forces, it would appear we have proportionately more people on police bail for more than six months, which may be due to these differing procedures.”