Your UK guide to detainment for criminal offences – everything you need to know ABV Solicitors If you have been arrested by an officer of the law for charges related to a serious criminal activity, you may want to consider enlisting the professional help of a criminal solicitor. Regardless of whether or not these charges relate to burglary, assault or manslaughter, a criminal solicitor is able to offer insight into your best course of action, what you can do to protect your rights as well as how to formulate the best defence strategy. The police are legally obligated to advise you about the charges being filed against you and the timeframe for your detainment. For other information or added insight a criminal solicitor is key to finding out more. What happens during the detainment stage of the process in the UK? For those of you wondering what takes place during the detainment stage of the process, the police are able to hold you for up to 24 hours in total at which time they can question you before being required to charge you with a criminal offence. If no charges are laid the police will be forced to release the person in custody. Should you find yourself subject to a detainment, contact a criminal solicitor immediately to enlist legal aid. This will help you to determine the most effective way forward when managing the situation and could result in the charges being dropped. For those people that are being held for a serious criminal offence such as an act of terrorism, it is possible that you could be detained without charges being filed for up to 14 days in total as opposed to the general rule of a single day. This will be at the discretion of the police managing the case and those that have made the arrest. In another instance, for anyone that is thought to have committed a serious crime such as a murder, the police are legally able to hold you for up to 96 hours if they wish as a result of an arrest for murder-related charges. For these offences it is also advised that you contact a criminal solicitor immediately to seek representation and assistance with formulating your defence strategy. Instances where you are able to be released on bail For those cases where the police do not have sufficient evidence to detain you any longer or to lay an official charge against you, you will be released from the holding cell. For cases where no charges are laid there will be no bail to be paid and you will be free to leave without having to pay a penalty. Bail is only applicable in cases where members of law enforcement have laid charges and feel that you may fail to attend your court appearance. In this instance your freedom is restricted in order to limit your freedom of movement and make you accountable for your actions. A criminal solicitor will state the importance of how you will need to comply with the conditions of your conditional bail in order to avoid being arrested again in the lead up to your trial. Link 1- https://www.abvsolicitors.co.uk/services/criminal-solicitor/ Link2-https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/police-powers-and- procedures-in-england-and-wales-201112-user-guide/user-guide-to-police-powers- and-procedures Link 3- https://www.gov.uk/arrested-your-rights