‘Ottawa’ Stats Show Bail Granted for Nearly all Who Ask, But Still too Many Remanded in Custody, Critics Complain
The vast majority of offenders who seek their release from jail are granted bail, according to statistics from Ontario’s courts, but critics of the province’s bail system say what’s concerning is the number of people who don’t even bother asking for their release in the first place.
The province said statistics from Ontario’s Court of Justice show that in 93 per cent of cases where an accused seeks bail they are released. Additionally, in four out of every five criminal cases dealt with by the court, the accused was out of custody.
There were 50,817 cases were a criminal accused sought bail in 2015. In 47,114 cases the accused was released on bail, either at the consent of the prosecutor’s office or after a contested bail hearing. It was only in 3,673 cases that bail was denied on consent of the accused or by a justice of the peace.