Police and prosecutors are at odds over whether robbery suspects are being too easily let out on bail.
Cops on the robbery beat complain that the number of robbery suspects let loose on bail is too high.
But prosecutors say police need to improve their evidence gathering, which would help ensure that more suspects are detained.
Police and prosecutors met last week to hash out their differences.
"The consensus reached was that more communication and coordination between the police and prosecutors is needed," said Tsai Pi-yu (蔡碧玉), director of the Prosecutorial Affairs Department under the Ministry of Justice.
A police officer representing the National Police Administration refused to comment on the meeting.
According to the administration, prosecutors asked for the detention of just 362 robbery suspects out of 1,403 cases handled between January and May. Of that number, courts granted detention requests in 321 of those cases.
But prosecutors say that the low number of detention requests is not a sign that they are slacking off. In many cases referred to them by police, they say, the alleged crime is not serious enough to warrant detaining a suspect.
Tsai said the most frequent problem prosecutors face is that police mishandle a case in the early stages of an investigation, creating more problems later.
"Evidence [presented by the police] is often inadequate," Tsai said.
In particular, she said, police often present suspects who have been identified solely by the victim. "In many motorcycle snatching cases -- in which suspects wear helmets while committing the crime -- the identification by victims is particularly flawed," Tsai said.
Even when there is sufficient evidence, she said, sometimes the alleged crime isn't severe enough under law to warrant the detention of a suspect. Prosecutors have little choice but to allow suspects to go on bail.
Tsai also noted that the number of suspects prosecutors asked to be detained isn't far from their approval rate. "That means prosecutors and judges have similar views in these cases," she said.
Before a 1997 amendment to the Code of Criminal Procedures, prosecutors alone could decide whether to detain the suspect. After the change, that power was handed over to the courts.
To prevent serious offenders from walking on bail, Tsai said, police should consult with prosecutors before turning over their cases.
"That way both sides can discuss and decide what evidence is still lacking and needs to be gathered," Tsai said.
That would prevent the police from referring cases to prosecutors with scant evidence as back up.
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