Archive Website of the UK government

What 'bail' is

If you have to appear in court you will be told where, and will be given a specific date and time to attend. In the meantime the police can let you go home, and they will expect you to attend the court hearing. This is being released and 'remanded on bail'.

• Young people: going to court after being charged with a crime

What is conditional or supervised bail?

If the police think there is a risk that you may not turn up at court they can let you go but under some conditions. This is conditional, or supervised, bail.

You will be given a document called a Bail Notice. This tells you what you can and can’t do, so make sure you understand everything on it.

The conditions can be simply that you need to report regularly to a police station. Or they can be more demanding, and the local youth offending team will be involved to monitor your behaviour. If the police think you may commit another crime they can put you on a monitoring programme which may include electronic tagging.

Find out more about electronic tagging by following the link ‘Young people: what happens when serving a community sentence’ below.

• Young people: what happens when serving a community sentence

• Youth offending teams: what they are

What is remand to custody?

Remand to custody is when, instead of being allowed to go home, you are kept locked up until your court date.

You won’t be sent to an adult prison, but sent to a secure centre for young people.

The court can remand you in custody if you have offended lots of times already, or if the crime you’ve been charged with is very serious. The youth offending team will keep in contact with you while you are on remand in custody.

• Youth offending teams: what they are

• Young people and custody

• If your child is arrested and charged (parents section)

If you have to appear in court more than once

You can also be remanded on bail or in custody after you appear in court. This is because sometimes court won’t be able to deal with your case at the first hearing.

It may need to collect more information, or the defence lawyer may need to prepare the defence case. This is why the court might need to ‘adjourn’ a case (move it to another date). However, even in these cases, being remanded to custody will normally be the last resort for a court.

You can also be placed on remand if you have been found guilty and have to wait to be given a sentence.

Being looked after by your local council

The court may decide you must be looked after by the local council. This is another kind of remand to custody. The court can tell the local council they have to do certain things, like give you a specific type of housing. Sometimes this can include being kept in a secure centre that is run by the council. However, the council can’t send you to a secure centre unless the court allows them.

• Young people: Going to court after being charged with a crime