Representing defendants on remand: a survey

Transform Justice (www.transformjustice.org.uk) is a national charity working for a fair, humane, open and effective justice system. We are currently engaged in a project looking at the process for decision making at the remand stage in court.

This survey forms part of that work. It is aimed primarily at those who have direct experience of representing defendants in remand hearings but we would also encourage other professionals with experience of the criminal justice system to take part. 

Findings will inform the development of recommendations aimed at improving the remand process and ensuring that defendants are not refused bail unfairly or in circumstances where an alternative to a remand in custody would be more appropriate.

The survey is short and we would be very grateful if you could take a few minutes to answer the 20 questions on the basis of your professional experience and expertise. The survey is anonymous, unless you choose to provide your name and contact details for the purpose of taking part in a short follow-up interview. If a question is not relevant to your experience, do skip it.

If you have any problems completing the survey, please contact Penelope@transformjustice.org.uk

Thank you for your time. 

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* 1. About you: Are you a ....

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* 2. Which of the following venues do you practice in? (please tick all that apply)

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* 3. In your experience, which of the following are most frequently given as grounds for refusing bail. (Please rank the answers in order of how commonly they are used to refuse bail where 1 is most frequently used and 7 is least frequently used)

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* 4. In your experience, what are the key barriers to defendants being granted bail? (Please rank each of the options in order of importance where 1 is most important and eight is least important)

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* 5. If you ranked 'Other' as among the top four barriers in question 4 above, please indicate what these other barriers are

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* 6. In your experience, how often are first bail hearings conducted by video link from police stations?

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* 7. In your experience, how often are remand hearings conducted by video link from prisons?

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* 8. In your experience, are detained defendants given the choice as to whether they come to court or a video link is used?

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* 9. In your experience, do detained defendants prefer to attend court in person or use a video link?

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* 10. What do you think determines whether defendants prefer to attend court in person or use a video link?

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* 11. In your experience, how difficult is it to communicate effectively with a defendant via video link?

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* 12. In your experience, does the use of video link make it more or less likely that a defendant will be refused bail?

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* 13. Where a defendant appears by video link for a remand hearing, how long do you normally get to discuss their case with them?

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* 14. In your experience, when a defendant is first remanded to custody, how easy is it for their legal representative to communicate with them about subsequent hearings?

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* 15. Every custodial institution should have a bail information officer. How often are you contacted by a bail information officer in respect of a defendant who is remanded to custody?

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* 16. In your experience, how helpful are bail information officers to defendants remanded to custody?

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* 17. CPS guidance suggests that defendants who have mental health problems may participate in proceedings more effectively by video link. Please indicate whether you agree or disagree with that suggestion

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* 18. In your experience are particular groups of defendants, or defendants with particular characteristics more likely to be remanded to custody? (Please tick all that apply)

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* 19. If you were a government minister intent on reducing use of remand, what would you change to achieve it?

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* 20. The government is considering extending the use video links. Please indicate your view on this proposal.

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* 21. The government is considering conducting some remand hearings by telephone. Please indicate your view on this proposal.

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* 22. Would you be willing to take part in a brief telephone interview with a researcher from Transform Justice to following up on questions asked in the survey? If 'Yes', please provide your contact details below.  

Thank you for taking part

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