New offence whilst on suspended sentence

[ADHAB]

If someone has a suspended sentence and commits a new offence will they be remanded in custody and refused bail until the first court appearence?
Previous offences: Possesion of knife, obstructing PC and assault on PC (twice)

[lcg]

i would hope so with a rap sheet like that. it would be disgraceful not to. i think somebody needs stringing up by their toenails......

[EDDIE51]

Yes I would expect that they would be arrested and held in custody until court appearance, when the suspended sentence will be replaced by a custodial sentence. Later they will be tried for the new offence and further time added to the original sentence.

[New Judge]

The two matters are not connected. Until convicted the defendant has the right to bail (under the 1976 Bail Act) unless it can be shown that he is likely to:

- Abscond (i.e. not answer his bail)
or
- Commit further offences
or
- Interfere with justice (in particular witnesses)


There has to be evidence to support the likliehood. It could be argued that the threat of activation of the suspended sentence makes it more likely that he will abscond. In practice this alone is unlikely to succeed and the suspended sentence is unlikely to be a consideration when the judge or Magistrates consider whether or not to grant bail.