No more police cells for drunkenness and petty offences.
The Inspector General of
Police has approved The Bail and Bond Charter that stipulates that noone should be arrested, put in custody (police cells) or forced to pay cash bail if they have committed petty offences punishable by a only fine or by imprisonment for a
period not exceeding six months.
This means that the
police will no longer arrest anyone found drunk and disorderly, loitering,
being found without national identity card which has been common with uniformed
officers who conduct arbitrary swoops in a bid to extort money from innocent
wananchi.
Besides freeing the petty
offenders who have been turned into “petty cash” sources for some officers, the
guidelines will also decongest police cells, prisons and remand institutions
currently choking with such individuals — and reduce extortionist swoops.
Most traffic offenders,
apart from those accused of serious offences like causing death, will either be
given free bonds or released unconditionally. They will instead be informed to
appear in court, on convenient dates, after being issued with free police
bonds.
The new charter was
developed by the Bail and Bond Implementation Committee on the request of the
National Council on Administrative Justice.
In case a suspect is
issued with cash bail, it shall be availed to court or refunded to the suspect
in a timely and expeditious manner.
“We shall refund the full
cash bail amount to you immediately if no charge is preferred against you, or
surrender to you in court upon your first court appearance,” Clause 7 of the
charter reads.
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