What happens if I break my pre-charge bail conditions?

Have you been placed on pre-charge bail? Are you finding your bail conditions too strict? Are you worried you may accidentally breach one? Or wondering how seriously the police actually take them?

In this article, we’ll discuss what happens if you breach your pre-charge bail conditions and what the longer-term impacts could be on the investigation and potential trial outcomes.

What happens if I breach my pre-charge bail conditions?

Breaching the conditions of your pre-charge bail isn’t actually illegal – but it is still serious, so the police do have the authority to arrest you without a warrant.

If you fail to return to the police station on your specified return date, this is illegal and can be punishable with up to 12 months imprisonment.

When you are arrested and no additional crime has been committed, the police can keep you in custody for 3 hours on top of any time left on the clock from when you were originally in police custody. This time allows them to try and fast-track charges for the original offence.

If you have been arrested for an additional crime (like failure to return to the station, witness intimidation), the clock restarts at 24 hours in custody and the police will investigate the two offences alongside each other.

What happens after I’ve been arrested for breaching my pre-charge bail conditions?

When you’ve been arrested for breaching your pre-bail conditions, the police will use as much of the allotted time they require to keep you in police custody. Their next steps depend on how much further along they are able to get with their investigation and whether you have committed an additional crime during your bail condition breach.

Re-released on bail with the same conditions

If no new crime has been committed and the police still don’t have sufficient evidence to charge you, they will bail you again with the same or new conditions. You may find that you now have to abide by stricter conditions.

A record will be kept of your breach and this can be used against you by the prosecution if your case does go to trial and if you make any appeals to have your bail conditions varied in the future.

Charged with an offence

If you’re suspected of committing another offence during your bail condition breach (such as intimidating a witness, perverting the course of justice), you need to be seen by the Magistrates’ Court within 24 hours of your arrest.

The court will decide whether to release you on bail again or to remand you in custody until your trial.

Their decision will be influenced by how serious the breach was, whether it was intentional, and other factors like your cooperation with the investigation thus far.

What are the impacts of breaching my bail conditions?

Aside from being arrested, extra time in custody, and potential court hearings, breaching your bail conditions has the following impact:

Negative impact on future bail conditions

If you wish to appeal to vary your bail conditions, or if you wish to be bailed in future, you have a lower chance of being successful. The breach will be a black mark on your record – it’s a sign to police that you’re not as trustworthy and you don’t cooperate with investigations.

Harsher penalties if found guilty

If you are charged and later found guilty, your solicitor has the opportunity to persuade the court to give you more lenient penalties, like community service rather than a custodial sentence. The prospect of this is reduced when you breach your bail conditions.

What do I do if I’m on pre-charge bail and my conditions are too strict?

If you are unhappy with the bail conditions imposed on you, it’s crucial that you still follow them to the T. Part of your defence case will be made up of “mitigating factors” (things that reduce the perceived severity of the offence) and good character and cooperation with the investigation are ones that your criminal defence solicitor will look to prove.

You can appeal to have your bail conditions “varied” (meaning lifted or adapted). It’s best to instruct a solicitor to appeal for you.

On pre-charge bail and anxious about potential criminal charges?

If you are on pre-charge bail, you don’t have to sit in an anxious state of limbo until the police are ready to drop the case or charge you. You can initiate a process called pre-charge engagement, where you can open a dialogue with the police and prove why you should not be charged for this crime.

At Holborn Adams, our pre-charge solicitors confidently take on cases like yours every day and secure no charges for our clients, allowing them to move on with their lives. Please contact us today for help initiating pre-charge engagement, giving you your freedom back.

Holborn Adams