More than 850 people in West Yorkshire have been waiting on bail for at least six months to hear whether they will be charged.

The figure of 859 is the second highest in the UK, behind the Metropolitan Police, and more than 670 higher than the figure for the third ranked police force, Lancashire.

Yesterday, Bradford Law Society said it could raise the issue with police as a matter of concern.

The figures were revealed following a Freedom of Information request. Thirty-four out of 44 police forces responded, including West Yorkshire.

The survey found that 57,428 people were on bail, of which 3,172 had been waiting more than six months for a decision on charges.

West Yorkshire had 3,979 people in total on bail; again only the Met had more.

The Law Society wants a review of practices and said there should be a statutory time limit.

Solicitor Adrian Green, secretary of Bradford Law Society, said the amount of time people were on police bail was “inappropriate”.

Mr Green said: “They have got this decision, on whether they are to be charged, hanging over them for a long period of time.

“When I speak to criminal lawyers in the district, they say the situation is not getting any better, in fact it’s getting worse.

“I don’t know why we are faring so badly but it is probably an issue of resources.”

Jon Christopher, chairman of West Yorkshire Police Federation, said the number of people on bail for more than six months was “alarming.”

He said: “Everything should be done in a timely fashion, but that is clearly not happening in a lot of cases. Our figures are so high there has got to be something we can do. We have to do better.

“The buck stops with the police, but it is the Crown Prosecution Service that actually decides on bail, charge or release, so it is not just a police problem.

“It is a criminal justice system problem. The fear is that once the cuts begin to bite even more, the situation might get worse.”

Superintendent Dickie Whitehead, of West Yorkshire Police’s Local Policing Department, said: “Forces have differing procedures. In West Yorkshire, we routinely bail people where further investigation is required.

“Compared with other forces, it would appear we have proportionately more people on police bail for more than six months, which may be due to these differing procedures.

“Complex cases such as fraud and financial investigation, as well as serious cases involving detailed forensic work, computer and phone analysis, entail painstaking investigative work requiring considerably longer than the 28 day limit proposed by the Law Society – whose members may be set to gain financially from the increased court advocacy that might arise from the proposed limit.”

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