A surety is someone who agrees to supervise an accused person while they're released into the community on bail waiting for their criminal matter to be resolved in court. In addition, it is very helpful to have a surety/cautioner (although you can apply for bail without one). Any history of offending, absconding or witness interference whilst on bail in the current or in previous proceedings; Any express or implied intention to continue to offend, abscond or interfere with the course of justice and any apparent motive for doing so (for example, to obtain money for the purpose of drug purchases); The extent to which the defendant has continued to offend whilst subject to other orders of the Court, such as suspended or deferred sentences and conditional discharge, and any relevant breach proceedings in respect of other sentences as the presence of one or more of the features may demonstrate an unwillingness or inability to comply with other orders of the Court such as bail conditions; Any previous breaches of bail conditions in earlier or concurrent proceedings or a history of absconding and failing to surrender to custody; Any evidence of violence or threats towards or undue influence over the victim of the crime, or other vulnerable witnesses; The degree of temptation to abscond. Given the importance of this advice to maintaining public safety, the Justices' Clerks' Society and the office of the Senior Presiding Judge has been made aware of this advice. Unconditional bail under these circumstances is granted on a technical basis, thereby avoiding the need to bring the defendant back to court unnecessarily for interim remand hearings. If you go surety for someone, you will need to sign a written agreement called a surety undertaking. If a remand in custody is sought, he may apply for bail using any argument of fact or law that he chooses. Where Court bail has been granted, the bailor will also have to attend a hearing to give reasons to the Court why the full amount of the bail should not be forfeited. The goal is to allow the surety to ensure they do not break any … Bail often means a defendant enters into a recognisance (a bond between them and the court) to pay money if they break the conditions of bail. A prosecution will normally be in the public interest where a defendant has deliberately failed to attend with no reasonable cause unless he or she is able to put forward substantial mitigating circumstances. Under s. 4 of the Bail Act 1976, on each occasion that a person is brought before a court accused of an offence, or remanded after conviction for enquiries or a report, he must be granted bail without condition, if none of the exceptions to bail apply. It is unclear whether information which the custody officer should have known or could reasonably be expected to have known will be treated by the court as not having been available. The papers will be sent to the Crown Court and will be placed before a Crown Court judge authorised to hear murder trials or preliminary hearings. This may well involve the giving of "hearsay evidence". Prosecutors and managers will therefore need to give careful consideration as to the merits of any appeal against the grant of conditional bail. A good plan will help convince the Justice to give you bail. Under s. 5 of the Bail Act 1976, the court or officer refusing bail or imposing conditions must give reasons for their decision. The purpose of the bail bond is to give you an incentive to make sure that the person on bail does not abscond. Youths charged with the serious offences listed in s. 115 should be dealt with in accordance with the procedure as set out at Annex 4, Annex 5 and Annex 6 and in the section on Youths below. It is vital that prosecutors note that this is not a consideration in cases involving domestic violence or any other risk of physical or mental injury to persons associated with the defendant. 37(2), 34(2) and 34(5) of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE)). Accordingly, in these circumstances, prosecutors should make appropriate representations (including any objections) as to the grant of bail. Normally any person who gives surety should be a known person of the accused having a title over an immovable property and remains solvent without any tax arrears on the property and that surety provider should not be accused of any offences and he should not have stood as a surety in any other cases. The court may impose conditions that appear to be necessary for the same reasons as adults save that the court may also impose a condition "for his own welfare or in his own interests" (s. 3(6)(ca) Bail Act 1976). R. 65. In exceptional cases where there is a material change in circumstances, the prosecutor can ask the court to withdraw bail that has previously been granted – see s. 5B of the Bail Act 1976 and R (Burns) v Woolwich CC and CPS [2010] EWHC 3273. The day on which the conditions are imposed is counted but the last day is excluded because it counts as the first day of the sentence. In practice, this application will only be made in circumstances where the police are in a position to charge the offender and it is anticipated the maximum period of 96 hours under PACE will not be sufficient for the defendant to pass swallowed or concealed drugs from his body. A surety is someone who is primarily liable for paying another’s debt or performing another’s obligation. The Court need not impose the conditions if it is content that satisfactory reports have already been obtained. You should only make an application for a remand to youth detention accommodation when you have considered all of the alternatives and decided that they would be inadequate to protect the public from serious harm or to prevent the commission of further offences. You should turn off your mobile phone and other electronic devices you have when you enter the hearing room. The court, which first imposes the electronically monitored curfew, will commence a record which documents the conditions imposed and the date on which they are imposed. Where a defendant is brought before a magistrates' court charged with possession of a controlled drug or a drug trafficking offence, the Magistrates have the power to remand the defendant into the custody of a police officer or customs officer for a period not exceeding 192 hours, if the court considers it appropriate to do so. Immigration detention is the government policy of locking up people who do not (yet) have leave to remain in the UK, or whose leave to remain has expired. It is vital that grounds for objecting to bail and the reasons for court decisions are accurately recorded by both the Crown and the Court. It is almost inevitable that your application will be refused and most judges will give … The magistrates can confirm the same conditions, impose different conditions, or direct that bail shall be unconditional. This guidance is not intended to be exhaustive and each case will need to be decided on its merits after consideration of any representations made to the court and any other information which may become available. Where the defendant is arrested for a new offence and for breach of one or more bail conditions, the police must give consideration as to whether the breach of bail as well as the new offence should be placed before the court within 24 hours of the arrest. Bail should be reconsidered in the light of the failing to surrender, A separate penalty should be considered for the failing to surrender. You should always think about your own situation and not compare yourself to other cautioners. Prosecutors must keep the issue of bail under review throughout the life of the case. Oral notice must be given to the court at the conclusion of the bail hearing and before the defendant is released - s. 1(4) BAA. Bail can often last for a number of months, so the Tribunal judge will want to see evidence that you have enough room in your house and a regular income that you can use to help support the person released on bail…. As such, prosecutors should consider the savings in time and cost that might result from using the live link where a prisoner serving a sentence in relation to another offence needs to be produced in court. Television screens, microphones and cameras will be set up so that they can take part in the hearing via a video link. R. 87 the defendant was on bail to appear at the magistrates' court. As their cautioner, you can provide the bail address, but you do not have to…, Providing your home as the bail address is a big commitment. R. 257. At minimum you should take 3 months’ worth of bank statements, your passport and any documents relating to your immigration status. Prosecutors may find that, since it is usually the investigating police officer who makes the application on oath and that these applications are often made outside of normal court sitting hours, the officer will make the application to the court. The CPS must be ready to deal with the section 115 hearing in the Crown Court irrespective of whether there is to be a bail application as the prosecutor will need to assist the judge with information to establish a legitimate reason for withholding bail. RSC Order 79, Rule 9(15) states that proceedings on appeal to the High Court can be commenced by lodging the written notice with that court; but, For precise information as to what documents to lodge and where, prosecutors should have regard to. To do this you will need to show that you have a pre-existing relationship with them. Your surety can go to the courthouse at any time and ask to be relieved of their duties and responsibilities as your surety. All rights reserved. Bail conditions should only be imposed in order to address any of the risks that would be inherent in granting unconditional bail. On reaching the UK, people face a hostile environment. If the judge grants bail, they will tell the person and explain why, and tell the person the conditions attached to bail. Your donation will help us to help people in their struggle for the right to remain in the UK, and to campaign for migration justice, Your email address will not be published. Bail conditions. Many defendants will be keen to go straight to prison and their advocates may argue that it is open to the police to bail the defendant to be produced at the police station, once the further enquiries are complete. In the case of a person aged less than 18 years, the maximum period of the "lay down" is 24 hours - s. 91(5) of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012. Section 128 (7) MCA states that a magistrates' court having power to remand a defendant in custody may, if the remand is for no more than three days, commit him to be detained at a police station. Changing the sum you have offered can cause problems at the Tribunal, so it is important to try and get it right in the first place. As the detention of children under 12 in youth detention accommodation would not be available to the Court, other than at the instigation of the local authority itself under s. 25 of the Children Act 1989 it would be improper to try and use s.38(6) PACE to achieve it. Or, they may leave the room for a while to think about it. Now that you understand what a surety bond for jail is, that $50,000.00 amount for bail doesn’t seem that high anymore. A benchmark of the quality of CPS case preparation is that we are: "Continually reviewing the remand status of defendants, and ensuring that custody time limit cases are dealt with in accordance with the national standard. A person accused of a crime who cannot afford the bail amount can also hire a bail agent to post the bond amount for them. At the bail hearing you may need to show bank statements or pay slips to prove to the judge  that you have the money and that it is your own. If they have lots of friends or family members who are willing to help, then they can ask each of them to offer some money as bail bond. Guide To Being A Cautioner In The Scottish Immigration Bail Process, We are proud to launch our brand new online resource: the young asylum guide. If authorisation has not been given, then this can be sought whilst the suspect is detained. It continues to be police bail and the procedure for applying for the variation is set out at: In cases involving criminal damage where the court is clear that the value involved is less than £5000, these offences are treated for the purposes of bail as if they were summary only: see Section 22 of the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980. Prosecutors should be prepared to assist the court to explore the status and means of the potential surety, in the interests of justice and the surety. the defendant is not likely to surrender to custody; or. Section 114(2) provides that bail may not be granted to someone charged with murder unless the court is satisfied that there is no significant risk that, if released on bail, that person would commit an offence that would be likely to cause physical or mental injury to another person. This guidance clarifies the roles and responsibilities of medical practitioners when issuing medical certificates in criminal proceedings. The court still has a duty to consider bail every time the defendant appears before it. Prosecutors are also reminded to ensure that victims are informed of bail decisions especially in cases involving 'vulnerable' and 'intimidated' victims and witnesses. Where the CPS has not yet received a file from the Police, the prosecutor should request a file. A beggar can also stand as surety provided he should have some acceptable residential proof. Securities should be lodged with the court or, in exceptional circumstances, with the police, and not with the CPS. London, SW1H 9EA. The BAA applies to youth offenders charged with, or convicted of, offences punishable (in case of an adult) with imprisonment and in respect of whom the prosecutor has made representations that he or she should be remanded to local authority accommodation, or youth detention accommodation under the provisions of ss. Right to Remain The information in this blog post is therefore about applying for bail to an immigration judge. Where the CPS receives information from a source other than the Police which may justify a Section 5B application, the prosecutor should provide details to the Police and request the Police view. 102 Petty France, London, E2 9PL. Under CPR 14.9 (9), a prosecutor may abandon the appeal at any time before the hearing begins by serving notice on the Magistrates Court, the Crown Court and the Defence. The question of a remand will only arise where an adjournment is sought and therefore the first point to consider is whether or not the adjournment is necessary. If so satisfied, the application for a remand in custody will be made by way of a two stage application - for the remand into custody, and, if granted to police custody. You must enter intoa bond to appear before the District Court on a specific date. One of the Novel provision of the law is women can now stand as surety in bail applications, which were hereto not possible,” Okotie said. If the CPS has already received a file from the Police, the prosecutor should ask the Police to give their view of the application. Mere arrival at the Crown Court building does not constitute a surrender, neither did reporting to an advocate. The Magistrates' Court - Simple Bail Structure - Card 2 - Adult Defendant: Summary Imprisonable Offence can be downloaded here. Details of the hospital where the defendant is being treated so that the MHCS can send the hospital the appropriate form to complete and ensure that they understand the process. Section 4 addresses can take a very long time to arrange, and the new arrangements are likely to be problematic, so an alternative address could be very useful for someone applying for bail. Error or forgetfulness is unlikely ever to amount to a reasonable excuse, but may be relevant mitigation for the court to consider (Laidlaw v Atkinson The Times (02/08/1986)). Examples might be extreme cases of personal violence such as murder, rape, robbery or aggravated burglary, particularly if it is alleged that weapons have been used in offences of violence or during the commission of sexual offences. You may not be present for the whole of the hearing – the judge may instruct that you are brought in only for the relevant section (see below). In certain parts of the country, Paragraphs 6A to 6C of Part I of Schedule I of the Bail Act 1976 apply which set out the exception to bail for adult drug users where their offending is drug-related, and where they have been required to undergo drug testing but have failed to comply with that requirement. In those circumstances, having heard representations from the defendant's representatives, he can be remanded in custody for a period ending in that date or for a period of 28 days, whichever is the less - s. 128A of the Magistrates Courts Act 1980. A surety agrees to pay an amount of money to the court if the accused person doesn’t show up for their next court hearing. Without help, many will be forcibly sent back to the wars, persecution and misery they have fled. Section 52 of the Mental Health Act 1983 provides that a defendant remanded in hospital under section 48 can be remanded in his absence without the need for him to appear back before the court, provided that he shall not be remanded in his absence, unless he has appeared before the court within the previous six months. Medical certificates will also provide the defendant with sufficient evidence to defend a charge of failure to surrender to bail. The defendant was bailed in criminal proceedings. Sometimes the security can be property instead of money. At the same time the Prison or Remand Centre sends a request for a report in the form of a standard letter and questionnaire direct to the Police Station dealing with the defendant's case. A written notice of appeal must be served on the court and the defendant in person within two hours of the conclusion of the bail hearing - s. 1(5) BAA. There is no requirement that the defendant be in custody in relation to the offences to which the preliminary hearing relates. We link to this great guide in our Toolkit section on Immigration Detention, and in this blog post we will draw out some of the key points (though we recommend reading the whole guide for more detail!). A surety/cautioner is someone who undertakes to encourage the person released on bail to comply with certain bail conditions. Where a prosecutor has decided to exercise a right of appeal, authorisation should be sought from a legal manager at level E before the appeal is heard in the Crown Court. Where a defendant is bailed by the police and fails to surrender at the first hearing, the prosecutor should make an oral application for an information to be laid in relation to both the offence under s. 6(1) and that under s. 6(2), as it cannot be anticipated at that stage when the defendant will surrender and whether he will advance a reasonable cause. If so, the prosecutor must ensure that the information in support of the application accords with the requirements of s. 43(14) PACE in that it contains: Prosecutors may also hear this provision referred to as a "lay down" and it is commonly used where a defendant has been charged for one or more offences and has been remanded in custody by the court for that matter, but the police wish to detain him in police custody for a short period to question him in relation to other offences. The legal representative for the applicant, if they have one, will appear in person at the hearing to argue on their behalf. Sometimes the money must be deposited with the court before you will be released from custody. Youths aged 10 and 11 can only be remanded to local authority accommodation. As mentioned above, for someone to be released from detention on immigration bail, they must have an address to be bailed to. the number of days in relation to which the direction is given. Where a defendant has surrendered to bail at court later than the appointed time, consideration ought to be given to the following questions in deciding whether or not it is in the public interest to proceed with an offence of failing to surrender: Where the court is looking to proceedings for failure to surrender (separate to consideration as to whether bail should be revoked or amended), it should consider the content of Criminal Practice Direction (Custody and Bail) [2013] 1 W.L.R 3164, the main requirements of which are: The court should give reasons in open court if it decides not deal with the Bail Act offence at the earliest opportunity. Prosecutors should be aware however that the possibility of a judicial review of a decision of bail still exists despite these changes, but authority indicates that this should be used sparingly - see R (ex parte R) v Snaresbrook Crown Court [2011] EWHC 3569 (Admin). If this is possible, the suspect should be arrested for breach of bail as well, but must be placed before a magistrates' court within 24 hours, irrespective of the stage at which the investigation for the new offence has reached. A surety must prove they can provide the amount fixed by the court. Conditions of bail may only be imposed where necessary to ensure that the exceptions to bail are addressed. For the detailed requirements as to the timing of applications, prosecutors should have regard to the provisions of ss. If, however, something is unclear or incorrect, or you believe that something you said has been misunderstood, you should try bring it to the attention of the Tribunal. They will later provide a written form of the decision to the person who applied for bail (or their lawyer). Note: Where a person charged with one of the offences referred to above has a previous conviction for manslaughter or culpable homicide in the UK or EU court, he shall only have his right to bail restricted where he received a sentence of imprisonment or detention upon conviction. When someone applies for bail for a criminal charge, the court might ask them to find someone else to be their surety. The nature of the offence for which the suspect was arrested; What enquiries have been made and what further enquiries are proposed; The reasons for believing that the suspect's continued detention is necessary for the purpose of such further enquiries. If late on the date for trial, whether any witnesses have been inconvenienced; Has any reason offered by the defendant for his late appearance; and. You should remain as quiet as you can when you are in the hearing room and try your best not to disturb the proceedings. Sometimes, one person may come forward to stand as surety for more than one accused. If the person is found guilty of breaching the court order, the Crown may ask the court to make you pay the money you committed as a surety. A benchmark of the quality of CPS case presentation is that we are: "Opposing bail where it is appropriate to do so, taking account of the risk posed to victims, the public and the course of justice.". In order to present yourself as a suitable cautioner you should prepare answers to questions concerning: As a friend of family member of the bail applicant, Question 5 and 6 can often be difficult to answer. Prosecutors are instructed not to consent to technical bail at magistrates' court or Crown Court hearings. The application is made under s. 25 Children Act 1989, where the remand has been made by the Youth Court or magistrates' court, the authority must apply to that Court and not to the Family Proceedings Court. His detention will be kept under continuous review, in accordance with PACE, whilst in police detention. When bail is granted conditions of bail can be attached where necessary to prevent the suspect from failing to surrender, offending on bail, interfering with prosecution witnesses or otherwise obstructing the course of justice, or for his own protection. App. A surety is a person that guarantees the defendant will attend his or her court hearing after being granted bail. Where a Prosecutor has applied for a defendant to be remanded in custody and the offence in relation to which the remand was sought was an imprisonable one, the prosecutor has a right of appeal to the High Court, under s. 1(1B) BAA. As well as providing them with a room, you may also need to pay for their daily living costs (food, toiletries, clothes etc.). You will likely be asked questions to see how you will influence them and how you will react to certain situations. This information should be recorded by the prosecutor on the Prosecutor App or the electronic Hearing Record Sheet (HRS). L. R.33. You might also be asked questions about your income, any benefits you receive, and your living arrangements…. Now that You Understand What a Surety Bond for Jail Is.