EM bail underway

Following intensive training, the first 12 of 36 new nonsworn EM Bail Assessors started work in late September, in what is an entirely new role for NZ Police.

The 12 EM Bail Assessors are part of a new team being established in the Police Prosecution Service (PPS), which has responsibility for managing electronic monitoring on bail – or EM bail – on behalf of Police.

The scheme started in the Northland and Auckland regions on 25 September and will be rolled out across the rest of the country over the next two months.

“EM bail is an alternative to pre-trial remand in custody,” says National Manager of the PPS, Superintendent Graham Thomas.

“EM bail sees a defendant released on bail by the Court to an approved residence with special conditions including electronic monitoring and management by police and security company staff.”

The scheme has similarities to home detention which applies to sentenced prisoners. It enables defendants granted EM bail to remain in their home environment, and possibly for some, to continue employment.

During this time they are monitored via an electronic ankle bracelet through the lead-up to and possibly through the trial process.

EM Bail Assessors have a key role in managing the new process. This includes detailed background inquiries into EM bail applicants to support the Prosecution report-back to Court about the appropriateness of EM bail for the applicant.

“EM Bail Assessors will also act as a contact point for EM bailees, their families, and other occupants of residences,” says Graham.

“Key considerations in any EM bail assessment and court decision will be the need to protect victims and witnesses involved in cases, community safety generally, and preservation of the integrity of the trial process.”

Graham says EM bail is one of a range of criminal justice sector interventions aimed at reducing the crime rate and the prison population.

“In many ways it is just an extension of what Police already do in respect of bail under the Bail Act 2000.

“By remaining at home, people on EM bail are not as exposed to the negative influences that contact with hardened criminals would otherwise present if they were in the prison environment. EM bail is also expected to contribute to a reduction in the number of people remanded in pre-trial custody.

“This is new business for police and, in particular, for the PPS. We are determined to do it well,” says Graham.