Remand (detention) - Detention After Charge

Detention After Charge

The term "remand" may be used to describe the process of keeping a person in detention rather than granting bail. A prisoner who is denied, refused or unable to meet the conditions of bail, or who is unable to post bail, may be held in a prison on remand. Although remanded prisoners are usually detained separately from sentenced prisoners, due to prison overcrowding they are sometimes held in a shared accommodation with sentenced prisoners. Reasons for being held in custody on remand vary depending on the local legal system, but may include:

• the suspect has been accused of carrying out a particularly serious offence
• the suspect having previous convictions for similar offences
• reasons to believe the suspect could leave the court's jurisdiction to avoid its trial and possible punishment
• reasons to believe the suspect may destroy evidence or interfere with witnesses
• the suspect is likely to commit further offences before the trial
• the suspect is believed to be in danger from accomplices, victims, or vigilantes

In most countries, remand prisoners are considered innocent until proven guilty by a court and may be granted greater privileges than sentenced prisoners, such as:

• wearing own clothes rather than prison uniform
• voting in elections
• being entitled to additional visiting hours per week
• not being required to complete prison-related work or education

Not all remand prisons grant these privileges, in particular, remand prisoners are often forced to wear prison uniforms and denied additional visitation rights, supposedly for safety reasons. Often they are denied all visits and all newspaper and media access, for risk of interfering with the investigation, such as communicating a story with fellow remand prisoners.