Bail, for the benefit of anyone that doesn't already know, is the release of a suspect or defendant on the condition that they reappear before the police or court at some agreed time in the future.
Bail can either be pre-charge, as discussed in my article Pre-Charge Bail, or post-charge, as discussed in my article Magistrates' Court Bail.
Whenever a person is arrested on a suspicion of an offence, the police ordinarily have 24 hours to either charge them or, if there is insufficient evidence to charge, release them from custody. This is discussed further in my article Authorisation of Continued Detention and Warrants of Further Detention.
When a person is released from police custody, this might be subject to pre-charge bail or without bail (under investigation). This affords the police the luxury of time to gather any further evidence of the alleged offence, in the hope they might be in a position to charge at some later time. The police cannot keep a person on pre-charge bail indefinitely and must conduct their investigation expeditiously.
People subject to pre-charge bail have their civil liberties restricted to a certain extent. They must report to the police as and when required. They might also be subject to specific conditions about where they can go and who they can associate with. The rules are intended to protect victims and witnesses, preserve evidence and mitigate the risk of suspects committing crime.
Conditions should only be imposed on pre-charge bail if they are necessary and proportionate, but occasionally the police impose conditions that are excessive, unlawful or unworkable. In this case, in accordance with section 43B of the Magistrates' Court Act 1980, the person subject to bail can apply to the Magistrates' Court to have those conditions removed or varied.
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