Being Arrested: Your Rights: How Long You Can Be Held In Custody

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1. Home
2. Crime, justice and law
3. Your rights and the law

Being arrested: your rights Skip contents

Contents

1. When you're arrested
2. Your rights in custody
3. How long you can be held in custody
4. Giving fingerprints, photographs and samples
5. Legal advice at the police station
6. Complaining about your treatment by the police

How long you can be held in custody

The police can hold you for up to 24 hours before they have to charge you with a crime or release you.

They can apply to hold you for up to 36 or 96 hours if you’re suspected of a serious crime, such as murder.

You can be held without charge for up to 14 days if you’re arrested under the Terrorism Act.

When you can be released on bail

The police can release you on police bail if there’s not enough evidence to charge you. You do not have to pay to be released on police bail, but you’ll have to return to the station for further questioning when asked.

You can be released on conditional bail if the police charge you and think that you may:

• commit another offence
• fail to turn up at court
• intimidate other witnesses
• obstruct the course of justice

This means your freedom will be restricted in some way. For example, they can impose a curfew on you if your offence was committed at night.

If you’re released under investigation

If you’re not charged with an offence, the police might release you under investigation.

This means you are free to go home and there are no rules you need to follow, but the police will continue to investigate the offence they think you committed. They could arrest you and charge you in the future.

Previous:Your rights in custody Next:Giving fingerprints, photographs and samples View a printable version of the whole guide

Related content

• Being charged with a crime
• Police powers of arrest: your rights
• Police powers to stop and search: your rights

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• Penalties, sentences and police

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