7. Getting Released

Once you’ve spent your time in custody, usually one of five things will happen:

1. You are released with no further action. This means you are not being charged and is the end of the legal process (although in rare cases it is possible for the police to reopen the case if new evidence comes to light).
2. You are Released Under Investigation (RUI). This is now the most common practice when the police are not yet ready to charge you. There are no conditions and the police can take as much time as they need to make a decision unless the offence they are investigating is a ‘summary’ offence, i.e. it can only be heard in the magistrates’ court. In this case the investigation can only last for 6 months after which you must be either charged or released with no further action.
3. You are charged with an offence and released on bail to appear in court at a later date. There may be bail conditions imposed, such as staying away from a certain area or not attending specific events. You may be able to challenge these conditions, especially if they have been imposed in a ‘blanket’ manner on a large group of people.
4. You are charged and held over to be brought into court the next day (or the following Monday if it is a weekend). This is usually done if you do not agree to your bail conditions, or if the police do not believe they should release you (because you might leave the country, etc.).
5. You are bailed to return to the same police station at a later date, pending further inquiries. This means the police have not decided whether to charge you or not. It often means they need more time to look over the evidence. You might, as above, be given bail conditions.
6. If you are under 18 years of age, the police may initially Release you Under Investigation and then refer you to the Youth Offending Team (YOT) instead of charging you. The YOT is a multi-agency team co-ordinated by the local authority and independent from the police. They will contact you and want to discuss ways to prevent further offending. They can refer your case back to the police for a charge if they think your case is too serious for them to deal with.

If they know about your arrest, ACAB, or groups who they work with, will try and organise police station support on your release. This means a friendly face to meet you, make sure you can get home, and ensure you are in touch with us for further support if desired.