How Can I Challenge Conditions Imposed As Part Of Pre-Charge Bail?

Blog

September 1, 2025

Team

Sean Caulfield

Legal framework

After arrest, a person who is being released from custody but who remains under investigation will be either released under investigation (RUI) or released on pre-charge bail and given a date on which they must return to the police station.

Bail will initially be granted for up to three months. The police can extend bail up to a total of nine months with the approval of a senior officer. Further extensions to bail can be granted on application to the Magistrates Court.

The police have the power to impose conditions as part of pre-charge bail. However, this is a limited power and to be lawful any conditions imposed must be necessary and proportionate.

The decision on what conditions to impose is supposed to be a balancing exercise for the custody officer. They should consider the rights of the suspect against potential risks that could be mitigated by bail conditions.

According to police guidance, conditions may only be imposed where it is necessary:

to prevent the suspect from failing to surrender to custody
to prevent the suspect from committing an offence while on bail
to prevent the suspect from interfering with witnesses or otherwise obstructing the course of justice
for that suspect’s own protection

Breach of bail

The police have the power to arrest any person who having been bailed fails to attend the police station at the time appointed to do so. Failure to return is a separate criminal offence and can be punished with up to 12 months imprisonment.

The police also have the power to arrest if they have reasonable grounds to suspect that a person has breached their bail conditions. Breach of pre-charge bail conditions is not a criminal offence but may count against a defendant when a court makes any future decision on bail.

Implementation

Any bail conditions imposed should be necessary and proportionate, they should be justifiable considering the risk posed by the suspect. In recent years, human rights and civil liberties organisations have raised concerns over the imposition of draconian pre-charge bail conditions particularly in protest cases.

An investigation by the Guardian found that less than 3% of arrests for conspiracy to cause a public nuisance had resulted in prosecution. In these cases people suspected of offences were bailed with conditions and the threat of criminal prosecution for failing to attend bail to return dates. Rather than being necessary and proportionate bail there has been a pattern of bail conditions being imposed as a means of chilling protest.

The justification for this from the police often stretches the concept of necessity and proportionality beyond what is justified. A bail condition restricting entry to a certain area may be proportionate if the condition is intended to protect a vulnerable complainant from a potentially violent suspect. A bail condition restricting a person from entering a borough, city or county because they have taken part in a non-violent protest may not be necessary or proportionate.

Equally, a condition requiring a suspect to live and sleep each night at their home address may not be justified if the suspect has no previous convictions and is at low risk of failing to surrender to custody.

What can you do?

If you have been arrested, request a solicitor to represent you at the police station. As well as providing you with advice for any interview under caution, they will have the knowledge and expertise to make representations to the custody officer at the time of granting bail.

If you are unrepresented you may still make representation on your own behalf to a custody officer. They have a duty to consider any objections you make to proposed bail conditions. If you tell a custody officer of any family, health, professional or other obligations they are more likely to make an informed decision and may be less likely to impose unnecessarily restrictive or unreasonable conditions.

What can we do?

If you instruct us at the police station, we will take your instructions and make representations to the police on your behalf.

If you are bailed with unfairly restrictive conditions we can apply to the court for them to be varied. Before applying to the court to vary bail conditions, representations must be made to the individual officer in a case.

Legal aid funding does not cover a solicitor making representations to police officers on pre-charge bail and conditions. However, limited legal aid funding is available for representation in the Magistrates Court for an application to vary conditions. There is also the option to privately fund this advice and work if preferred.

Facing unfair or restrictive bail conditions can feel overwhelming, especially when you are still under investigation. Our experienced criminal defence solicitors can advise you at every stage, from making representations at the police station to applying to vary conditions in court. Get in touch today for clear and practical advice. Call 0330 822 3451 or request a callback.

Cuckooing in Law: Understanding the New Offence in the Crime and Policing Bill 2025

Opinion

Unanswered Appeals: Reform of the Criminal Cases Review Commission