Report and Recommendations - Scottish Government

elease the suspect on the type of conditions competent to the court, providedthat the court has the power to review these conditions in a summary process.RecommendationsI therefore recommend that:⎯ the police should be given express power to liberate a suspect fromdetention, pre charge/report, subject to any appropriate conditions forthe purpose of carrying out further investigations. The police shouldnot have to specify the nature of any enquiries, if that wouldcompromise the investigation, but otherwise they should do so;⎯ the period of liberation on such conditions should be limited to amaximum of twenty-eight days. Where this is done, the periodalready spent in pre charge/report detention and any future periodwill be aggregated and must not exceed the twelve hour maximum;⎯ investigative liberation should only be granted on the basis that thereremains reasonable cause to suspect the person of committing theparticular offence;⎯ when it is granted, the police must provide a time and place for areturn to the police station, when, of course, the rights of access to alawyer would revive;⎯ the conditions for liberation may include special conditions, necessaryfor the proper conduct of the investigation, such as prohibiting thesuspect from visiting a particular area, speaking to certain people andmaking himself/herself available for other legitimate purposes;⎯ the police should be given the power to liberate a suspect after chargeor intimation of any intention to report the suspect to the procuratorfiscal, on special conditions, including a curfew;⎯ where the police do not intend to recommend opposition to bail, thesuspect should be released by them, either unconditionally or on anundertaking to appear at court on a specified future date. Where thepolice are uncertain whether or not to recommend bail they shouldseek the direction of the procurator fiscal;⎯ the procurator fiscal should have an express power to review policedecisions on liberation and to liberate also on standard or specialconditions;133