Can Anyone Help With A Dilemma That I Have ...

[Bonkers123]

after my ex was aressted and charged finally after a year of stalking ,harassment,etc ...the police have admitted to me that they made several mistakes in that year ..the most obvious one been that they released him out on bail no less then 6 times ! They actually said to me that he should have been kept in prison on remand awaiting the trial that has just gone !! I AM ANGRY ,SO VERY ANGRY !It was because of this that he was able to assault me with a baseball bat and i am so bitter .....can i make a complaint even though he has just been found guilty ? I think the police owe me a huge explanation as to how they screwed up so badly ..so many times ;(

[Buenchico]

>>>can i make a complaint even though he has just been found guilty ?

Of course you can:
http://www.ipcc.gov.uk/complaints

[Peter Pedant]

but what you cant do is sue the police for the consequences of their negligence.
even tho the fault may be bad.

there is a previous case ( Sutcliffe) on this which gives them immunity

[Bonkers123]

Love your answers ! I have looked into this ..i just have no idea where to start ..well tbh ..how to conduct myself and what to actually say ...

[Bonkers123]

Oh i see ...so even though they released him several times on bail leaving me open to attack ,i can do nothing ? That's a shame ....

[Buenchico]

Put your complaint in writing and follow the procedures from my link. Your local CAB (or a solicitor acting on their behalf) can help you to draft your letter.

[Buenchico]

You might well not be able to sue but the police have made ex gratia compensation payments to people affected by their failings in several high-profile cases over the past few years.

[Bonkers123]

I shall do exactly as you have told me ,Buenchico ,thank you very much ! I may well wait though until the trial is over in August and do a job lot :) ...It was actually the DVU officer who said i should make a complaint as ,and these are her words," I do love my colleagues ,but some can be right pratts at times,and this time i really feel they screwed up big time !" ...

[New Judge]

I don't know the timeline of the events you have suffered but before you embark on any action you need to bear this in mind:

The police can only detain someone they suspect of a crime for 24 hours. There are facilities, when investigating very serious crime, for them to apply to a court to detain them up to 96 hours and further up to 14 days in the event of suspected terrorism offences. After these time limits they must either charge or release their suspect.

If they lay a charge the defendant has to be brought before a court at the first opportunity and in any case within 48 hours. It the matter is not concluded at the first court appearance it is then for the court to decide whether the defendant is remanded in custody or released on bail under the 1976 Bail Act. This act is quite clear in that the defendant has the right to bail unless the court has grounds to believe that if released he may (a) fail to appear next time (b) commit further offences or (c) interfere with the course of justice.

The police (or indeed the courts) have no powers to remand somebody in custody beyond the time limits I mentioned above in order for them to make further enquiries or to gather more evidence before deciding whether to lay a charge. The police have no powers at all to keep him in custody beyond those limits even if he has been charged and the decision to release him or remand him to custody must be taken by a court.

So unless your ex was charged during the twelve months you mention there was no possibility of him being kept in custody.

[Bonkers123]

Thank you Judge ,the effort in your response is very much appreciated,in fact all the replies are fantastic ...

Can i pick your brains once more please ....He was arrested several times for breach of his bail conditions whilst awaiting a charge and each time his bail was "adjusted" and he was sent on his way again ! I eventually took out a non molest order and within three days of him receiving it ..yep he breached it ! And still the police released him and the very same day he breached it again !!He assaulted me with a baseball bat the the first breach ..the second breach he tried to contact me on facebook ..this is going to trial in August ,the first breach he has just been found guilty off and sentencing is in two weeks once reports are obtained ...i do hope you can see my frustration ..i just do not understand any of it and just feel i would not have been so badly assaulted had he been held :(

[New Judge]

On the face of it following the first breach of bail conditions he should have been kept in custody by the police, taken to court and the issue of his bail re-examined. (If what you say is correct it is my view that his bail should have been withdrawn on the first occasion and most certainly the second).

The main point here is that once charged the issue of bail or custody no longer rests with the police. A court has to decide that and it seems it is the courts that have let you down.

[Buenchico]

>>>The main point here is that once charged the issue of bail or custody no longer rests with the police

That's true if the police would prefer that someone is kept in custody; they do indeed have to take them before a court to have them remanded.

However if they're happy for them to be bailed, they can simply grant 'police bail', which doesn't require any reference to the courts.

It's unclear as to whether Bonkers123 was let down by the courts (because the matter was brought before them and they granted bail) or by the police (because they repeatedly granted 'police bail' without reference to the courts).

[New Judge]

Yes Chris, but until they lay charges they only have the option of police bail. There is no facility for them to take the suspect to court and have him held in custody (beyond the time limits I mentioned) whilst they make further enquiries.
If they continually grant police bail it means they have not laid any charges. It is unclear whether Bonkers has been let down by the police or not. If they took some time to decide whether to prefer charges they had no choice but to grant bail. The issue then becomes whether they took too long to make the charging decision. If they laid charges fairly quickly then the bail would have been granted by the court.

[Bonkers123]

I appreciate the replies and the effort that you have gone too in replying .My frustration lies in not knowing the full story of how and why he was released so many times ! The DV officer dealing with the second breach was the one who actually called her colleagues pratts !! And it was also she that told me to make a complaint ..and here lies my dilemma ...who do i complain about ? Why was he released after he assaulted me whilst breaching the non molest ? I was so upset and angry i didn't know what day it was at times ! Also speaking to victims support they also say that there has been a mistake somewhere ..so how do i go about finding out where the mistake was made and who made it ! ...Sorry guys ,i must be driving you crazy here ,but i can honestly say that everything i am saying is the truth ...thank you for your help ...

[New Judge]

I think, Bonkers, you need to tell us why your ex was at large. Wasit that he had been:

(a) arrested but released on police bail pending further enquiries
(b) arrested and charged, taken to court, convicted and released as part of his sentence.
(c) arrested and charged, taken to court and released on bail pending completion of the court case.

Or something else?

If it is (a) you may have a case to pursue the police for handling the matter badly and delaying the matter so that your ex had the opportunity to offend against you (though you may struggle if they contend that they had to take the time to gather sufficient evidence to support a prosecution).

If it is (b) or (c) you have suffered as a result of a judicial decision made by the court (either releasing him on bail instead of remanding him in custody or not sending him to custody as part of his sentence) and you have very little chance of doing anything about that.

[Bonkers123]

Yes ,i think A ,but in that time he breached police bail several times ..and they once again amended his bail conditions and sent him on his way ! He was bailed to stay away from the NW5area which i live in ..when he breached it and came to my house with a snooker cue to assault my son and i ,he was once again taken in ,cautioned AGAIN, and they simply amended the bail conditions and barred him from the whole of Camden ! Each time this happened the police kept saying they were gathering evidence ...was this not enough to hold him then ? He then sent my children videos of himself ( disgusting !!) and the police once again took him in ,cautioned him and promptly released him ..they had all the evidence of the videos as my children gave them there phones ! Still no charge ...it would just seem that they just did not know what to do with him and suggested i take the non molest out on him as if they could not be bothered anymore :( And then he breached that and assaulted me ...