Forms of Release
These are the various forms of release most people will encounter when charged with an offence. Some forms of release impose few, if any restrictions on the charged parties while other forms can contain a number of restrictions.
Bail Hearing
In cases where a person is arrested and charged with a serious offence they may be held in custody. All arrested persons must be brought before a representative of the court within twenty-four hours of the time of arrest for the detention to be addressed. This court process is known as a bail hearing.
A person can be held for a bail hearing for several reasons including:
- Seriousness of the offences requires it
- Risk that they will re-offend
- Offenders identity not confirmed
- Flight risk
- Repeat offender
- Breach of probation/parole/recognizance
Appearance Notice (Form 9 Release) is a form of release given to the offender by a peace officer. It contains the name and address of the offender, the offence, date, time and location of the first court appearance and the date, time and location for fingerprints. The person named on the form 9 is required to attend for both dates listed on the document.
Promise to Appear (Form 10 Release) is a form of release given to the offender by the Officer-in-Charge of the facility where the offender is held in custody. It also contains name and address information of the offender. The offender must sign the document and promise to attend both listed dates in order to satisfy the conditions of the release form.
Undertaking given to a Peace Officer or Officer in Charge (Form 11.1) accompanies a Promise to Appear. This form may include several restrictive conditions the offender must agree to abide by before he or she can be released. Such conditions could include:
- Not to contact the victim of the crime
- Not to attend specific locations
- Obey a set curfew
- When an offender signs this document it signifies their promise to abide by the listed conditions.
