OTTAWA - A new study suggests men released on bail after being charged with beating their wives often return home to beat them up again.
The Justice Department study looked at more than 200 case files from Winnipeg's domestic violence court for 2004.
It found about a quarter of those out on bail assaulted and harassed their victims again.
A Justice Department spokeswoman says the study is part of a larger project to examine Canada's bail regime, and was intended only as an internal working paper.
The head of a Winnipeg women's shelter says the findings come as no surprise to her.
Barbara Judt of Osborne House says the study points to the need for tighter rules for bail.
She also says it might be a good idea to attach electronic tracking devices to some accused wife-batterers who are released on bail.
