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6.1 The provision of alternatives to custodial remand is a significant aspect of addressing the needs of the remand population. This review of conditions for remand prisoners provides a useful opportunity to set our findings alongside a summary of the alternatives to remand in custody currently available. These mainly consist of a range of services to courts to assist in bail decisions and this chapter provides a brief description of the schemes operating in Scotland together with a comment on some newer developments such as tagging, drugs courts and video linking between prison and court.
6.2 The three main types of bail service are: the provision of verified information to the courts to assist in decision making, assistance in finding suitable accommodation and bail supervision. Two pilot schemes offering verified information and accommodation services were established in Scotland in 1991; one based in Glasgow and the other in Edinburgh. The key aims are to reduce the use of custodial remand by increasing the opportunities for bail and to provide information that enhances the quality of bail decisions. Both schemes were extended to include bail supervision in 1994.
6.3 This offers a service to the Edinburgh courts and is provided by the court based team of Edinburgh City Social Work Department and SACRO, working in close conjunction. Priority for bail supervision is given to 16-25 year olds, single parents and 'vulnerable people' such as those with disabilities or accused who are homeless. Bail accommodation is available through a number of hostels and single tenancies and provision of support is a major component of the supervision package. As well as accommodation issues, support may address drug and alcohol problems, relationship difficulties (often with families for younger offenders) and education and training issues.
6.4 In 1998, 472 people were interviewed in relation to the provision of information to the court and 262 bail information reports were submitted, of which 67% resulted in the granting of bail. Lack of verification of information and the subsequent discovery that bail was unopposed were the main reasons cited for reports not being submitted. Additionally, there were 304 referrals for bail supervision of which 110 individuals (95 males and 15 females) were granted supervised bail32.
6.5 The Glasgow Bail Scheme services the Glasgow courts and is staffed by bail officers employed by Glasgow City Council Social Work Department. The bail officers undertake all work associated with the bail scheme. Female offenders, 16-25 year olds and those with mental health problems are prioritised. A range of accommodation is available in the city. The SACRO bail support scheme can provide support in SACRO accommodation or people's own homes. It can also operate the monitoring of court imposed curfews.
6.6 In 1998, 2,894 interviews were carried out in relation to the provision of information to the courts, with 2,460 reports submitted (including both written and verbal). Bail was granted in 1,525 of these cases, including 144 cases of bail supervision33.
6.7 A bail retrieval scheme at Cornton Vale has been developed as part of the Glasgow bail scheme, with the aim of identifying cases that may have slipped through the net at court or where the case already presented for bail could be strengthened in some way. A further bail retrieval scheme is planned for Barlinnie.
6.8 Both bail schemes have been subjected to external evaluation34. Although there was no appreciable cost benefit with the bail services, the contribution that the provision of bail information made to enhancing the quality of decision making in the granting of bail cannot be easily quantified in terms of costs. In both schemes, reports with positive verified information on accused persons for whom bail was initially imposed resulted in these individuals being less likely to be remanded in custody. Both schemes were evaluated as being effective in identifying appropriate individuals for whom the courts saw fit to grant bail supervision. Since these initial evaluations were carried out, both schemes have developed substantially in scope and numbers of referral, which has implications for cost comparisons (see paragraph 1.35).
6.9 Although the provision of accommodation for bailees would appear to provide an important resource, the issues are complex. Despite extensive development of supported accommodation schemes, overall there has been a very limited take up of hostel accommodation. There seem to be a number of possible reasons for this. Many potential bailees are unwilling to accept hostel conditions and do not choose this alternative. There is also a problem of credibility with the Courts for this option, which would normally be for relatively high tariff cases and therefore, possibly not seen as sufficiently secure. This is an area that would benefit from closer examination. Another factor may be that if an individual is remanded or sentenced to custody, Housing Benefit entitlement continues for 13 weeks. If they transfer to bail accommodation, their entitlement is transferred with immediate effect to that accommodation rather than to their own tenancy. As a result, people may choose custody rather than bail accommodation in order to retain their tenancy.
6.10 At present, the legislation in Scotland provides for the electronic monitoring of offenders as a sentence only through Restriction of Liberty Orders35. These orders are still being piloted in Scotland, so information about their effectiveness is not yet available, although evaluation in England and Wales shows some promising results and offers the potential for use as an alternative to a custodial remand.
6.11 Although not an alternative to custody, the development of video conferencing between courts and prisons for preliminary court hearings, which is allowed under the Crime and Disorder Act, 1998 (but not for trials or sentencing) is currently being piloted at Barlinnie for committal proceedings. This has the potential of reducing the resource demands for court attendance, to the possible gain of the remand population as a whole. A further recent development that may have implications for how drug users are dealt within the remand process is the establishment of a Drug Court Feasibility Group, a CoSLA led initiative. This has a broad remit to examine the criminal justice response to drug misusing offenders and report by February 2000.
6.12 There have been significant developments in bail services in Scotland and whilst evaluation is required to monitor the on-going effectiveness of these services, there seems every indication that this provision is an increasingly valuable resource for the courts, with costs likely to reduce as take up increases. A Bail Supervision Steering Group has now been formed with the remit to establish a policy and strategic framework for the extension of the current schemes to other areas in Scotland. (We understand also that funding has been offered to North and South Lanarkshire Councils to allow bail information and supervision schemes to be established at the courts within the areas covered by these authorities.) Other developments such as bail retrieval and electronic monitoring demonstrate the potential scope for limiting custodial remands where possible.
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