North Yorkshire Police use a couple of phrases when reporting their work on social media and they often cause confusion.
Officers have been explaining why they act in certain ways after the arrest of suspects.
You’ve probably seen them say a suspect was ‘released under investigation’ or ‘released on bail’.
Here’s what it all means.
First of all, it doesn’t mean a suspect has been let off.
It’s totally different to being ‘released with no further action’.
It doesn’t mean they won’t be prosecuted either, or that police no longer think they’re a suspect.
What it does mean is officers have arrested someone and they need to do further investigative work before they can decide what happens next.
They say the common reasons for this are:
• We need to speak to witnesses or other suspects
• We have to send things to be forensically tested
• We need to track down and go through CCTV
• We have to build a case file in other ways so it is strong enough to secure a prosecution
North Yorkshire Police say; “When someone is released in this way, they either come back to a police station on a set date if they’re on bail or we update them if they’re under investigation.
“They may then be charged, rebailed or face no further action.
“If a case went to court too early, it could fall apart due to weak evidence.
“So we have to investigate and build a case robustly, which can take time.”
It all works like this because they can only hold suspects in custody for 24 hours (it can be extended for very serious crimes).
It’s sometimes possible to keep someone in custody beyond that point… this is known as a ‘remand’. It means a suspect goes straight from the cells to court.
Remands can be used in certain serious cases, including when there’s a clear chance someone is likely to reoffend or there’s a risk they’ll disappear.
Officers added; “We don’t decide on the criteria for releasing people under investigation or on bail – it’s set nationally.
“The vast majority of suspects we release under investigation or on bail turn up exactly when they’re supposed to.
“If the suspect fails to turn up, they become ‘wanted’ and a warrant is issued for their immediate arrest – you’ll have seen those appeals here on YorkMix News.
“They are arrested on sight and are then likely to be remanded in custody. They could also face a bigger sentence at court.
“So again, released under investigation or on bail doesn’t mean we’ve let someone off – it means we’re working on it!”
