NCJ Number
134957
Date Published
1992
Length
35 pages
Annotation
This report presents results from a review of recent studies in England and Wales that have examined the extent to which defendants committed additional offenses while on bail.
Abstract
Such studies were conducted by the Avon and Somerset Constabulary, Greater Manchester Police, Northumbria Police, the Metropolitan Police Directorate of Management Services, and the Home Office Research and Planning Unit. This review profiles the extent of offending on bail, how it varies across England and Wales, and any changes since a similar 1978 Home Office study. Data were examined on the proportion of defendants on bail who committed additional offenses and also on the proportion of recorded crime committed by persons on bail. The studies indicate that the proportions of persons on bail who were subsequently found guilty of offenses committed while on bail were 10 percent in three areas outside London in 1986 and 1988, 12 percent in London in 1988, and 17 percent in Northumbria in 1989. Since there has been a considerable increase in the number of persons granted bail between 1985 and 1991 (from 350,000 to approximately 480,000), this means the number of persons convicted of committing offenses while on bail has probably increased by between 13,000 and 15,500. Data on the percentage of crime committed by persons on bail cannot be accurately determined because of the varying ways in which these figures were determined in the different studies. Across the various measures, it ranged from 7 percent to 57 percent. 4 tables and 9 references