ALMOST 900 suspects in Oxfordshire were held on police bail for more than three months last year.

Figures show that out of the 4,056 people bailed by Thames Valley Police, 586 were on bail for between three and six months and 260 between six months and a year.

The statistics obtained by the Oxford Mail show that while the total number of people on bail dropped between 2013 and 2014, from 4,468 to 4,056 out of more than 10,000 people arrested across Oxfordshire, 41 were held for more than a year.

Bicester man Dan Mackay, who collects military relics including old explosive devices, has been on bail for nine months after he was arrested last September on suspicion of theft from heritage sites.

It came after Army bomb disposal experts carried out a controlled explosion in his garden.

He said he had been in “limbo” since being released on bail.

The 36-year-old father-of-two said: “First of all I lost my job as a logistics manager. They said while I was on bail I could end up convicted of anything. The police confiscated everything I bought in terms of military items so I have lost my income from buying and selling on ebay.

“My life is completely in limbo professionally. I just got a bar job a couple of weeks ago but I was doing odd jobs up until then.

“It does not surprise me that there are so many people on bail.

“The police seem to be trying to sort all the cases out and not trying to close them out and get it done.”

Of the 301 people on bail for more than six months in 2014, almost a third – 91 – were released without charge.

In 2013, 135 of the 250 people bailed for more than six months were subsequently not charged.

Paul Baker’s daughter Liberty was killed on June 30 last year when she was hit by a car driven by Robert Blackwell in Curbridge Road, Witney.

Oxford Mail:

  • Liberty Baker, who was killed in a car crash. Her father, Paul Baker, waited months for the driver to be charged over her death

Blackwell, 19, was arrested on the day of Liberty’s death but was not charged with causing death by dangerous driving and serious injury by dangerous driving until November 8.

He was sentenced to four years in jail on April 16.

Mr Baker said: “It was a very tense time for us and we did not know whether he would be charged or not.

“When he was on bail he was allowed to drive and that was very stressful for my wife Maureen and I.

“There was always a chance that he would be charged with a lesser offence like death by careless driving and that was a real worry for us. It was a real relief when he was charged.”

In March Home Secretary Teresa May proposed changes to police bail and some of these measures will be included in the Policing and Criminal Justice Bill which was announced in the Queen’s Speech.

If the bill is passed suspects would only be able to be held up to 28 days on bail before being charged, with an extension of up to three months possible in some cases.

Mr Baker said he would like to see the change debated but that it might not always be suitable.

He said: “One of the reasons for the length of time it took was the police investigation.

“They left no stone unturned.”

Ms May said: “It is simply not acceptable for individuals to spend months and in some cases years on pre-charge bail, with no system of review, only for charges never to be brought against them.”

Thames Valley Police spokeswoman Lucy Billen said: “It is difficult to give a general answer to why the number of people on bail has fallen or risen as each separate case has to be considered on an individual basis with different factors affecting the timeframe of each investigation.

“The use of police bail is an important tool in bringing offenders to justice. It allows time to carry out an in-depth criminal investigation while minimising the length of time suspects are detained.

“The time required to investigate different types of cases varies greatly depending on the complexity of the crime. However it is important that consideration is given to securing justice for victims of crime and the rights of those on police bail.

“Given the concerns about variations in the length of time people can remain on bail, we welcome the recent review in order to bring consistency and transparency to the way in which pre-charge bail is used in criminal investigations.”