Court in the Act: Procedural Progression in the Law of Arrest, Detention and Failure to Answer to Bail
| Author | Cathál MacPartholán |
| DOI | 10.1177/0022018319829265 |
| Published date | 01 June 2019 |
| Date | 01 June 2019 |
| Subject Matter | Comment |
Comment
Court in the Act: Procedural
Progression in the Law of Arrest,
Detention and Failure to Answer
to Bail
Catha
´l MacParthola
´n
Law Lecturer and Independent Author, UK
Abstract
This article provides an overview of the latest developments in criminal procedure and practice
pertaining to pre-trial defendants. It critically reviews the position regarding: failure to answer
to bail, breach of pre-charge bail conditions and the considerations of granting bail with the
liability to be rearrested following a breach of bail conditions (s. 72 of the Policing and Crime
Act (PCA) 2017). In the eight years of Conservative government, criminal justice reform
programmes have been seen as executing the extensive erosion of civil liberties. This article
examines the enthusiastic enterprise set out in the PCA 2017 to deliver reform of the law on
bail—and the consequences of failure to answer to bail following this reform. The first section
of the article consists of a brief review of the early commitment to realign the State power with
Britain’s past underlying traditions of democracy, freedom, human rights and the rule of law,
arguably, accentuated with the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012. This is followed by a dis-
cussion of the interaction between police officers and suspects, namely: (a) pre-arrest, and on
arrest, (b) caution and legal rights and (c) detention. This section will discuss recent coarsening
of that commitment regarding powers of arrest, detention, entry, bail and failure to answer to
bail, for pre-trial defendants. The article then turns to outline and evaluate the juxtaposition of
the Law Commission’s Consultation Paper on Search Warrants. An analysis will then be made
of the impact of s. 72 of the PCA 2017, before concluding with a critical evaluation of whether
this change is a contemporary rapine of breach of bail, or a comparative necessity.
Keywords
Policing and Crime Act 2017, PACE 1984, arrest, custody, bail
Introduction
After the defeat of the Labour Government in the 2010 General Election, the formation of the Conser-
vative Coalition Government precipitated a crusade of legal change, redefining itself through the
Corresponding author:
Catha
´l MacParthola
´n, Menai Bridge LL59 5HF, UK.
E-mail: cathalmacp@outlook.com
The Journal of Criminal Law
2019, Vol. 83(3) 195–204
ªThe Author(s) 2019
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DOI: 10.1177/0022018319829265
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