The Law Society has announced that it wants a review of police bail practices and said that there should be a statutory time limit of 28 days on police bail.
According to figures obtained by the BBC, more than 57,000 people are on police bail in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The BBC data was collated from 34 of the 44 police forces that responded to a Freedom of Information request. The story highlighted that there is currently no limit on how long a person can be kept on police bail before a decision on whether to charge them is made.
Richard Atkinson, chair of the Law Society's Criminal Law Committee said people are often left 'in the wilderness' while police decide whether they should be charged with a crime. He said he believes the limit should be set at 28 days.
'I would call for a 28-day statutory maximum period for police bail. But it could be extended by applying to a magistrate.
'There, police would have to explain what stage they were at in their investigation and why a further 28-day extension of bail was necessary.
'There's an attitude among some officers to put off until tomorrow.'