What Will Happen If you are being Charged with a Crime

Should you have been charged with a crime, you will then be handed a ‘charge sheet’. This will tell you all the details of the crime that you have been charged with. The police can then decide if you are free to go home until the court hearing – but you might have to act in accordance with certain rules, known as ‘bail’ or you will be kept in police custody until it’s time for you to be taken to court for your hearing

Your initial court hearing after you have been charged with a crime will be at a magistrates’ court or nowadays at a ‘virtual court’ with the use of video technology – even should your trial be later on at a Crown Court. You should contact a criminal law specialist in Yorkshire, to know exactly where you stand.

Young Persons

  • If you happen to be below the age of 18, your first hearing will normally be at a youth court.
  • If you’re under 17, the police will make plans for you to be held in local authority accommodation, before you go to court.
  • If you’re aged from 12 to 16, the police will decide whether to hold you at the police station if it is believed it will protect the public.

Bail

  • You may be released on bail from the police station after being charged, and you will be able to go home until your court hearing date.
  • When given bail, you may have to agree to conditions such as:
  • Stay at a certain address
  • No contact allowed with particular persons
  • Hand in your passport to the police to stop you attempting to go abroad
  • Report at scheduled times to a police station, e.g. once a week
  • If you don’t abide by such conditions you will be rearrested and taken to prison so as to wait for your court hearing.

When you attend your hearing at a magistrates’ court or a ‘virtual court’ – video conferencing in court – you might be given bail again until your trial begins.

Reasons you’re unlikely to be given bail include:

  • Being charged with a serious offence, e.g., armed robbery
  • Having been convicted of a serious crime sometime in the past
  • Having been given bail previously and not adhered to the terms
  • The police believe you might not turn up for your hearing
  • The police have reason to believe you are at risk of committing a crime while out on bail

Reasons to be put on remand are:

  • Being charged with a serious crime, e.g., armed robbery
  • Been convicted of a serious crime in the past
  • The police believe you might not turn up for your hearing
  • The police have reason to believe you are at risk of committing a crime while out on bail
  • Having been given bail previously and not adhered to the terms
  • After attending your hearing at a magistrates’ court, you may be put on remand until your trial begins, even if previously given bail.

Contact legal professionals whose job it is to take care of your rights.


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Jovany Maxwell