Freedom of Information Request Reference No: I note you seek access to the following information: 1 - Please state the number of people currently on police bail (under investigation and awaiting a decision on charges) after being arrested by your force. 2 - Of the people in part 1 please state how many have been on pre-charge police bail without charge for longer than 28 days. To clarify: I would like the figure for the number of people on bail, not the number of offences, as some people may be on bail for more than one offence this clarification is also applicable to parts 3-6. 3 - Of the people in part 1 please state how many have been on pre-charge police bail without charge for longer than 6 months. 4 - Of the people in part 1 please state how many have been on pre-charge police bail without charge for longer than 1 year. 5 - Of the people in part 1 please state how many have been on pre-charge police bail without charge for longer than 18 months. 6 - Of the people in part 1 please state how many have been on pre-charge police bail without charge for longer than 2 years. DECISION I have today decided to disclose the located information to you in full, along with context for the statistics provided. Prior to 3rd April 2017 where an investigation could not be completed during the initial period of police detention, the police had two options - release on investigative precharge police bail (with or without bail conditions) or take no further action (NFA). Prior to 3rd April there were no formal time constraints on investigative pre-charge police bail and consequently a person could be on police bail for long periods of time. Since 3rd April the Policing and Crime Act 2017 has introduced restrictions on imposing pre-charge investigative bail. These changes are intended to ensure that pre-charge bail is only used when it is proportionate and necessary, and where it is imposed that strict time limits (the Applicable Bail Period) are applied. The two options above (Bail and NFA) still exist and the Act has introduced a new category of 'Released Under Investigation' (RUI). When applying RUI the suspect is released from custody and informed that the matter remains under investigation, that they may be contacted (for further interview etc.), they may receive a postal charge, and that they will be informed once the investigation is complete.
RUI is the presumed approach for all detainees who have been in custody where the investigation and the grounds for continued detention have ceased. Please find attached information pursuant to your request above. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your interest in the Metropolitan Police Service. Information Rights Unit
Volume of Custody Records with at least one Offence currently shown as on Police Bail Protective Marking Suitable for Publication Scheme Ad-Hoc Reference Number FOIA/MOPAC Ref Number Summary Creating Branch / Directorate Date Created Review Date Unrestricted Yes 8249 Volume of Custody Records with at least one Offence currently shown as on Police Bail MetHQ - Strategy and Insight 28/04/2017 N/A This report uses LIVE DATA extracted from: NSPIS Custody Date Live data was extracted: 24/04/2017
Notes The data was extracted based on Date of Arrest. This was used to reflect changes in Police Bail since 3rd April 2017 The durations of length of time on Police Bail were based on the live data extracted from NSPIS on 24th April 2017 The ability to differentiate between Investigative and CPS Charging bail has only been in effect since 3rd April 2017 and is currently based on manually created entries to the system. For the TOTAL volume of custody records showing at least one offence on Police Bail, the two totals shown should be added together It should be noted that the persons concerned may have been dealt with for other offences via different disposals.
IMPORTANT: Please ensure that the Notes Page is read in conjunction with the data in this report to ensure that it is interpreted correctly. Duration Volume of Custody Records Under 28 days 944 Over 28 to 6 months 7079 Over 6 months to 1 year 1531 Over 1 year to 18 months 376 Over 18 months to 2 years 160 Over 2 years 86 Grand Total 10176
IMPORTANT: Please ensure that the Notes Page is read in conjunction with the data in this report to ensure that it is interpreted correctly. Duration Volume of Custody Records Both 4 CPS Charging Decision 38 Investigative Bail 442 (blank) 48 Grand Total 532