Lesson 3: Bail

INTRODUCTION
Whenever a person is arrested for an offence, the officer in charge of the Police Station is expected by law to investigate into the case. The preliminary (initial) investigation is bound to arrive at one of two likely outcomes. A criminal case may be established against the suspect. There may be no criminal case to implicating the suspect. In any of the above instances the officer in charge the station or unit is by law faced with two options. If no criminal case is established against the suspect he or she must be released without delay. If however, after preliminary inquiry, it is found that there is a case against the suspect, the officer is expected to Without delay put him before a Magistrate for a remand. Or Grant him or her bail. On the bail bond the suspect may be instructed to either report the police station at a date and time stated for further investigation or to report at the Court for trial

WHAT IS BAIL Bail is a guarantee backed by a promise to pay a sum of money stated on a document called bail bond, for a person originally arrested to be released to reappear at a given time, date and place either to answer an alleged offence or for investigations into an alleged offence and to forfeit (pay) the amount promised if it is disobeyed (fail to appear).

Principles guiding money or any form of guarantee stated on the bail bond include the following; 1.No sums of money is supposed to be paid to or accepted by the Police before or during the execution of a bail-bond. 2.The amount stated, as security is only payable upon a court order when the person bailed fails to appear. 3.The amount stated as security for bail shall not be less than the maximum fine, which may be inflicted by the court as punishment for the offence for which the accused is charged.

TYPES OF BAIL A person arrested may either be   granted Police enquiry bail or Court bail.

Police enquiry bail is granted either for the person to appear in court or report back to the Police station for further investigation in to the case. Police enquiry bail is either granted with a surety or by self-recognizance.

Court bail 'Section 96 of ACT 30/60 The Court has power to grant bail to any person brought before it whose case is not punishable by death. Police may however with justifiable reasons raise an objection to the granting of bail by the court under some circumstances and if approved by the court a remand warrant should be obtained from the court as an authorization to detain the arrestee until the date stated on the warrant as the next court date. FIVE (5) JUSTIFICATIONS FOR REFUSAL TO GRANT BAIL Any person arrested is entitled to bail within 48 hours as enshrined in the 1992 Constitution of Ghana. Bail can however be refused if granting of bail is likely to cause any of the following five situations.
 * 1) A further breach of the peace
 * 2) The escape of the arrestee (suspect or accused)
 * 3) Destruction to life and property
 * 4) Interfere with or undermine the judicial process or prosecution
 * 5) Endanger the life of the arrestee himself/herself, and witnesses

Before grating bail consider the following That the offence or suspected offence is not murder or treason or 	an offence punishable by death. 5.	There must be sufficient surety or sureties. SEE: Section 15, 961, 101 & 102 OF ACT 30/60 RECOGNIZANCE BAIL In the case of self-recognizance bail, the offender alone signs the bail bond.
 * 1) WHAT ARE THE FACTORS TO CONSIDER BEFORE GRANTING BAIL'''
 * 1) That the possibility of the offender’s appearance in Court or the Police Station is guaranteed.
 * 2) 	That the offender will not interfere with prosecution witness on his release or will not commit more offences.
 * 3) The arrest must have been made without warrant and if it is made with warrant, then an authority as to bail must have been stated on it. (Section 74 of Act 30/60)

SURETY i.A third party called surety (a person not the offender) signs the bail bond for the offender’s appearance or otherwise as directed in the bond. If the conditions in the bail bond are disobeyed the surety must help the police or court to locate the suspect or pay the sum in the bail bond.