Bail information schemes
There are two types of bail information schemes: one court based - operated usually by the National Probation Service and a second prison based - operated usually by HM Prison Service.

(Click here to read about how bail decisions are taken in court)

oner
Bail information schemes in prison
Once a person arrives in prison, their remand status should be reviewed weekly. In more serious cases, the remanded person has the right to appeal direct to a judge.

Prisoners awaiting trial often face huge obstacles in trying to convince the courts that they would be safe to release on bail.

Prison Service regulations (PSO 6101) state that each prison that holds prisoners on remand is mandated to provide a Bail Information Scheme. The role of Bail Information Officers is to gather evidence to show that the accused can safely be released on bail.

The primary purpose of Bail Information Schemes is to offset a failing of the courts: namely, courts too often receive insufficient evidence about the accused to prove one way or the other whether it would be safe to release the person on bail.    top

How does the scheme operate?
All of those people in prison awaiting trial are eligible to access a bail information shceme, except those on charges of murder, attempted murder, manslaughter, rape or attempted rape.

The Bail Information Officer interviews the remanded person to gather evidence about his or her social circumstances (including previous convictions and details about family ties and accommodation) for the purpose of building a case to argue for the release on bail of the prisoner. HM Prison Service monitors the performance of Bail Information Schemes.

Each prison is expected to ensure that the officers trained to deliver the service are given sufficient time to provide the service.   top

How effective are bail information schemes?
The effectiveness of bail information schemes can be determined by the proportion of eligible remand prisoners who are released on bail.

During the final quarter of 2002, Bail Information Schemes in England & Wales achieved the release on bail of 965 remand prisoners, which was nine per cent of the total number of eligible prisoners during that time period (10,672).

During the first quarter of 2003 the schemes achieved the release on bail of 812, which was 6.7 per cent of the total number of eligible prisoners during that time (12,277).

Over the first six months of 2003, HMYOI Brinsford operated the most successful bail information scheme. One hundred and forty young prisoners were released on bail following an interview with the bail information office. This was a success rate of 34 per cent.

Four prisons did not manage to release any prisoners on bail during this time: Brixton, Brockhill, Holloway and Parc. Two of these, Brockhill and Holloway, hold women.   top

A geographical lottery
According to research carried out by the Prison Reform Trust success rates vary considerably by region

During the first six months of 2003, the proportion of eligible remand prisoners who were released following a bail information report was 14 per cent in the East Midlands (South) region and 9 per cent in the North West. By contrast, the success rate in the Eastern Region was 5.4 per cent and in Wales, it was 3 per cent.

These figures reveal that remand prisoners who were eligible for bail were five times more likely to be released in East Midlands (South) than they were in Wales.   top

Unacceptable inconsistencies
The different success rates show that the provision of bail information services to prisoners on remand is unacceptably inconsistent. The disparities are unacceptable because they suggest that receiving help with bail information (and therefore continued confinement in custody on remand) is arbitrary.

The failure of a large number of prisons to provide a functioning Bail Information Schemes is particularly intolerable, given the problems of overcrowding, the harm done to people whose detention is unnecessary, and the costs to the Prison Service. The Prison Service could save millions of pounds if Bail Information Schemes were operating effectively across the country.   top

RESTRICTED ACCESS: Legal Information for Remand Prisoners
Research by the Prison Reform Trust published last year has revealed that prisons are failing to equip remand prisoners to prepare for trial.

The study, ‘Restricted Access: Legal Information for Remand Prisoners’ found that nearly half (48%) of prison libraries in jails holding remand prisoners stock the standard legal texts that under Prison Service regulations they must provide.

The study highlighted a number of issues which need to be addressed by the Prison Service, and within individual prisons, if they are to meet their responsibility to provide access to legal texts for remand prisoners.

It concluded:
“….access to law books is restricted in many prisons. It was quite clear that the majority of librarians surveyed felt there was a problem with access. We were, however, surprised at the disparity between prisons. Some prison librarians felt it was important to make prisoners aware, others did not.”

It recommended a clear agenda for change:

• There should be parity for all remand prisoners so that access to legal texts is not dependent on the establishment a prisoner is held in.
• The procedures for supplying books and legal texts to libraries and making them available to prisoners should be reviewed as a matter or urgency. Monitoring provision should be part of establishment audits and reports by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons.
• There should be more time available for prisoners to gain access to, and look at, legal texts. Fifteen or twenty minutes is not sufficient time to grasp complex legal information. If access to libraries is such a low priority, consideration should be given by the Prison Service to alternative arrangements. Where legal documents were held in Bail Information or Legal Services Offices, access appeared to be easier.
• More CD-Roms and the computers to use them on need to be provided.
• An index of the legal material should be compiled so that prisoners and prison staff are aware of what is contained within those documents to make access for prisoners quick and easy. If a ‘Guide to Archbold’ or the equivalent does not already exist could the Prison Service commission one? Given that half of all prisoners are at or below Level 1 (the level expected of an eleven year old) in reading, there is certainly a need for this type of guide. Young offenders were identified as having particular problems in accessing and understanding information.
• More translated material should be made available for those for whom English is not their first language.    top