Bail dilemma

THE saga around crimes being committed by individuals while free on bail is a long and a sorry one.

It reflects very poorly on our justice system. It also gravely undermines the morale of, and the public’s faith in, our police force — a force that often sees its objections to a bail application by an individual accused of a crime overruled.

Figures covering the last decade show that some 10,693 crimes were committed while an offender was on bail in relation to some other charges.

Department of Justice figures show that six homicides, nine sexual offences, and two kidnappings occurred while offenders were on bail in 2013.

Earlier this week, a young man facing four serious charges was due before a court in Cork.

He had earlier been granted bail to attend his mother’s funeral, despite objections from the gardaí. The accused was not in court and the judge’s decision not to be influenced by the Garda objections had a predictable outcome.

A judge is an independent arbiter but it is sometimes difficult to understand why the opinions of prosecuting gardaí are so easily set aside.