Police are failing to arrest domestic violence suspects who breach bail conditions because of massive confusion over bail terms, shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said today.
Cooper criticised a controversial legal ruling passed in May which means officers can no longer bail suspects for more than four days without either charging or releasing them, saying the ruling has caused "shocking" confusion.
The judgement, which overturned 25 years of police practice, came about when district judge Jonathan Finestein, at Salford Magistrates' Court, refused a routine application from Greater Manchester Police for a warrant of further detention of a murder suspect, Paul Hookway, in April.
High Court judge Justice McCombe confirmed the judgement in a judicial review on May 19, ruling that time spent on police bail counted towards the maximum 96-hour limit of pre-charge detention.
The force sought a judicial review, but the ruling was upheld at the high court last week, prompting chaos.
Advertisement
"It's causing huge pressures for the police who are now having to review and reassess huge numbers of cases," Cooper says of the judgement.
"We think there are likely to be over 1,000 domestic violence suspects alone currently out on police bail.
"Those bail conditions may be not to go to their ex-wife's workplace or not to go back to the victim's home - the police are now worried about whether or not they can enforce them."
Fresh guidance issued to forces now says officers have to rearrest suspects in order to detain or question them again if they want to exceed the 96-hour period, but they can do so only with "new evidence". The ruling means the bail deadline for scores of suspects has already expired, releasing them from their bail conditions.
The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) said the ruling had caused "chaos and concern" among officers.
Advertisement
Three Supreme Court judges will tomorrow consider an application to stay the decision, which could put the ruling on hold until the full appeal is heard at the same court on July 25.
The government has already announced emergency legislation to deal with the problem, with MPs pledging cross-party support.
Cooper attacked the Home Office's reaction when policing minister Nick Herbert made an emergency statement to the Commons last week.
Speaking on Sky News' Murnaghan programme today, she said ministers had weeks to deal with the ruling.
"They should have done emergency legislation a week or two ago," said Cooper.
Advertisement
"This judgment itself came out six weeks ago, it's been in effect for the last two weeks."
She challenged home secretary Theresa May to unveil plans for new laws tomorrow, adding: "We've hardly heard a peep from the home secretary on this. It's a really serious issue."
Cooper also called for an inquiry into why it took so long for the issue become public.
Defending the timetable last week, Herbert told MPs: "Only when we received the written judgment on June 17 were we able to begin to ascertain the extent of the effect, when it did begin to become clear that the extent of the judgments and its implications would go beyond simply the issue of warrants of further arrest.
"Since that period the Home Office, Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and ACPO officials have been in a constant dialogue to try and understand the detailed implications of the decision, which are complex.
Advertisement
"On June 24, the leads of ACPO met senior officials in the Home Office and at that point ministers were informed."
Napo, the probation union, said rapists, paedophiles and violent offenders would have their bail conditions lifted unless legislation was passed.
Harry Fletcher, Napo assistant general secretary, said, "If this ruling stands the CPS and the police will be forced to decide whether to charge or release based on inadequate information. This will affect public confidence and risks causing injustice."