Paul Ford, head of crime at Kirwans Solicitors, on a contentious issue:

The recent tragic case in Warrington involving Garry Newlove has raised questions about the nature of bail and whether or not it is granted too easily.

The granting of bail can often be a controversial subject, particularly in cases where a defendant commits a serious crime, such as murder or manslaughter, while released on bail.

Thankfully, cases such as these are exceptionally rare and that is largely thanks to the way bail is granted in our justice system.

In essence, anyone who is before the courts accused of a crime has the right to apply for bail while they are awaiting their trial.

The average application for bail before a magistrate can last for more than an hour so it is certainly not something that is rushed or not considered fully.

During this time the prosecution will outline their case against the defendant and put forward any previous convictions.

After this the defence solicitor will put forward the case for their client, which may include the defendant’s denial of the alleged crime and any rebuttals of the evidence.

Also, at this time the defence solicitor may suggest ways the court can avoid remanding the defendant in custody. For example, if it is a violent crime committed in a certain area, the solicitor could volunteer that his client will live in another area during the time he is on bail and avoid any further crimes being committed.

Following these submissions, the magistrates will usually retire to consider whether or not they are to grant bail.

So as you can see, these decisions are not taken lightly and are made with all the facts before the magistrates.

If it is a serious crime, such as murder, manslaughter or armed robbery, then it is highly unlikely that they will be granted bail.

Unfortunately, some defendants who are released on bail do commit further offences. These tend to be nuisance crimes, such as vehicle theft or public order offences. If they persistently commit offences then they are likely to be remanded in custody when they appear before the courts again.

Ultimately, the court system can not imprison everyone who comes before it and neither should it want to. Our justice system is based on the concept that everyone is innocent until proven guilty and the system of bail supports that. It is clearly absurd to remand a person in custody, who is alleged to have committed a fairly minor crime and has no previous convictions, particularly if the evidence against them is weak.

The Garry Newlove case is appalling and has quite rightly raised questions about how the justice system works and, in particular, how bail is granted.

Although I can not agree with the statement that bail is currently granted too easily, I would certainly welcome any inquiry into the current system and any improvements that can be made.