Terms Explained

This is an order made by the magistrates or Crown Court to stop a person causing harassment, alarm or distress. It may order you not to go to a particular place, associate with certain people or do certain things. An ASBO is not a criminal conviction but to disobey or breach an ASBO is. People can be sent to prison for breaching ASBOs.

The police will sometimes offer a fixed penalty ticket as an alternative to being prosecuted, if you are accused of committing a minor crime. If you are offered such a ticket you will have to pay the fine, which is usually about £80 but you will not have a criminal record. You should seek advice as to whether it is the right thing for you to accept a fixed penalty ticket.

If you admit an offence, you may be offered a conditional caution ie you will receive a caution and not go to court providing you satisfy a requirement. If you fail to do this, you would usually be prosecuted.

If you don’t get bail you will be held on remand. If you are under 17, you will usually be accommodated by the Local Authority which could mean being placed away from home. Remand can also be in prison. If you are 15-16, this is normally in a special remand centre in a Young Offenders Institute. If you are 12-14, it is normally in a secure facility, run by the Local Authority. Remand can go on until the case has finished.

If you are aged 18 or over and admit an offence that is not very serious and you have never been in trouble with the police before, you may receive a caution rather than being charged with an offence. However, do not rely on this as it is just a possibility. If you are under 18, then you would receive a reprimand or final warning which is a caution for young people under 18.

Generally, a final warning means exactly that; any further offending would result in prosecution. However, this could depend on circumstances. If you are under 18 and two years have passed and you further offend, again, you may be given another final warning, although you cannot rely on this.

If you have been arrested and charged with an offence, you may be bailed by the police to appear at the Magistrates or youth court at a later date. Under certain conditions, the police may impose conditions on your bail such as a curfew. If you are kept in police custody, you must be brought before the next available Magistrates Court and then you may apply for bail. If you are given bail, this means that you must return to the court on a given date to answer the charges.

Magistrates may also impose conditions on your bail, such as a curfew or reporting to a police station. Breaching bail conditions could lead you to being held in prison until your case comes to trial.

Unless you are suspected of a serious offence, you must be charged or released within 24 hours of detention and you have the right to consult a solicitor at any time. In some exceptional circumstances you could be held up to 36 hours. After 36 hours, you have a right to see a solicitor and a magistrate may order your continued detention in a police station for up to 96 hours with a series of reviews. The right to see a solicitor can only be withheld as long as it could prejudice the investigation. If, after 96 hours, you have still not been charged, you have the automatic right to be released unless you have been arrested in relation to a terrorism offence, where you can be held for longer.

If you ask for legal representation, the Custody Officer will contact the solicitor for you. Advice from the Duty Solicitor is free, regardless of income but you may have to wait to see him/her. If you sign the custody sheet saying you don’t want to see a solicitor, you can change your mind at any time. You will also be asked if you would like a friend or relative to be informed of your arrest. You have the right to have someone informed without delay, with very few exceptions such as cases where a person is arrested for terrorism, when access to a solicitor and relatives can be delayed.