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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Hannah Al-Othman North of England correspondent

Call for system that frees rape suspects as alternative to bail to be scrapped in England and Wales

A police custody cell corridor
FoI data found that more than 1,800 people reported to the police for rape have remained released under investigation for at least three years. Photograph: Simon Turner/Alamy

Hundreds of suspected rapists in England and Wales are spending years released under investigation, under a system that the government has been urged to scrap as it “doesn’t serve anyone’s interests apart from the police”.

Introduced under the Policing & Crime Act 2017, released under investigation (RUI) allows police an alternative to bail, without the set timeframes or conditions attached to police bail.

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