This report presents the results of a literature review on bail support programs and services commissioned by the ACT Justice and Community Safety Directorate as part of their Justice Reform Strategy. A wide range of resources in criminological and other social services databases, accessed through the AIC’s JV Barry Library, were reviewed, and a number of government agency websites and public internet resources were examined.
The literature search found information on a range of different support programs, including evaluations and reviews of some of these. Each Australian state and territory runs at least one program or service to support people on bail—either directly, to allow the courts to grant bail, or to provide treatment and other services to defendants on bail. In some instances different types of programs have been merged but, overall, bail support programs across Australia have much in common. Their services nonetheless vary in range, extent and duration and the degree to which they are provided directly by government agencies or through referral by nongovernment agencies. Different Australian jurisdictions have different eligibility requirements for participation in the program; some require defendants to have entered a guilty plea, while this is not a consideration for other programs.
In addition to the programs offered throughout Australia, literature on bail support and supervision responses in New Zealand, Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom (UK) was also reviewed. The program and service responses in these nations are generally similar to Australia’s; their offenders and defendants have similar needs and their criminal justice systems and processes are broadly comparable. The literature review also examined practices in a number of European countries, including in Scandinavia. The review found that these countries take quite different approaches from Australia to determining and effecting the release or incarceration of accused persons. In Scandinavian countries, bail is very rarely used.
The examination of bail support practices, and the evaluations and reviews of various programs and services, allowed a set of best-practice principles for the implementation and operation of bail support programs to be identified. These principles apply to both programs targeting adults and those targeting children and young people. However, the principles are applied somewhat differently, reflecting the different legal considerations, responsibilities and needs of adult and youth clients.
