Bail Applications, Bail Variation & Bail Offences

Being denied bail or granted bail with restrictions or conditions can deprive you of your liberty or freedom for a long time. Accordingly, it’s crucial to deal with bail matters effectively first-time around.

At DJMS, our team of expert Higher Rights Advocates and criminal solicitors specialise in making bail applications for clients who have been denied bail, varying bail conditions, and representing those accused of committing bail offences.

What is bail?

Bail is when you are released from custody pending charge or trial.

If you have been interviewed under caution as a suspect in a criminal case, the police might release you on bail while they continue investigating the alleged offence. This is known as ‘pre-charge bail’. If you are given pre-charge bail, you will need to return to the police station on a specific date.

If you have been charged with a criminal offence, you might be given bail until your trial begins. The police can release you on bail after charging you, or the Court can give you bail.

What are the different types of bail?

Bail can be conditional or unconditional.

Unconditional bail is bail with no restrictions or conditions imposed. You might be given unconditional bail if you are unlikely to re-offend or interfere with witnesses and are not a flight risk.

Conditional bail is bail with restrictions or conditions imposed. Conditional bail is only appropriate when specific risks, such as interfering with witnesses, are present.

Examples of the most common types of bail restrictions and conditions include:

• Having a correspondence address.
• Living at a specific address.
• Surrendering your passport.
• Staying away from certain people or places.
• Staying home past a specific time.

The Court or the police can require someone to act as your surety before agreeing to grant bail. Your surety promises to pay a specified amount of money if you breach your bail conditions or fail to return to the police station or attend court when required.

When will you be given bail?

Innocent until proven guilty is a fundamental principle of the criminal justice system. Accordingly, the starting point in most cases is that bail should be granted.

However, you might be denied bail if there are concerns that you might:

• Fail to attend Court as required.
• Cause harm to yourself or others.
• Interfere with a witness or otherwise try to obstruct the course of justice; or
• Commit further offences

When deciding if any of the above factors apply, the judge will consider:

• How serious the alleged offence is.
• Your character.
• Any risk to yourself and others.
• How strong your community ties are.
• The strength of the evidence against you.
• Whether you have broken bail conditions in the past.

Furthermore, there are numerous exclusions to the right to bail.

What are the exclusions to the right to bail?

The general right to bail does not apply in the following circumstances:

• You have been charged with murder.

Only Crown Court Judges can grant bail in murder cases, and they’ll only do so if there is no significant risk of you harming another person.

If you’re charged with murder and have previous convictions for murder, attempted murder, rape, or another serious sexual offence, you’ll only be given bail in exceptional circumstances.

• You have been charged with manslaughter or a serious sexual offence.

If you’re charged with manslaughter or a serious sexual offence and have previous convictions for murder, attempted murder, rape, or another serious sexual offence, you’ll only be given bail in exceptional circumstances.

• Your offence is linked to your drug use.

In certain circumstances, you might be denied bail if your offence is drug-related, and you have failed to comply with a requirement to undergo drug testing.

What are bail applications?

You may need to apply for bail if you have been refused or if your case is one in which only the Crown Court can grant it.

You only have a limited number of chances to make a bail application. If your application is refused, you might only be able to make another one if your circumstances change. Accordingly, the importance of making a bail application at the right time and ensuring it is as robust as possible by having expert legal representation cannot be overstated.

DJMS’ specialist team of Higher Rights Advocates, criminal solicitors and legal executives have a proven track record of making successful bail applications on behalf of our clients. We will put together the strongest possible case for bail, using our extensive experience to pre-empt the Court’s concerns and comprehensively address them.

What are bail variations?

If the conditions and restrictions attached to your bail are too stringent, you can apply to vary or even remove them.

When considering your application, the Court will consider a range of factors, including:

• Any new evidence that alters your risk assessment.
• Any significant changes to your circumstances, such as your health or employment.
• Your good behaviour and compliance with existing conditions.
• The impact of the conditions on your daily life.

Your application must clearly state your reasons for requesting the variations and be supported by cogent evidence. It is therefore very important to seek expert advice from specialist and experienced criminal lawyers when making a bail variation application to give it the best possible chance of success.

What are bail offences?

Failing to turn up when required by the police or Court following bail is a serious offence. Unless you can prove that you had a ‘reasonable excuse’ for your no-show, a warrant for your arrest will likely be issued and you may face up to 12 months in prison.

If you have skipped bail, you should contact us immediately. We will look closely at the circumstances of your failure to attend as required and advise on the best course of action to protect your position.

How can DJMS help?

If you have been refused bail or your bail conditions are impacting your daily life, we can help. Our specialist crime lawyers have a wealth of experience in making bail applications and applying to vary bail conditions, and we will do all we can to secure a favourable outcome in your case.

We frequently negotiate bail variations directly with the police, avoiding the time and expense of Court hearings wherever possible. If a hearing is unavoidable, we will leave no stone unturned in gathering the evidence in support of your application, ensuring that it has the best chance of success.