When a person is charged with a criminal offence, he is brought before a justice as soon as possible, and generally, the accused is released on his giving an undertaking to appear at court.
Even those people charged with serious offences are not held in custody prior to their trial, unless there is good reason for their detention.
Where the prosecution believes that the person charged should be held in custody, a bail hearing, known as a show cause hearing, is held. The burden is upon the prosecution to show cause why the detention of the accused in custody is justified, or whether other provisions or limitations should be put on the accused’s release.
Read Also
Agri-business and farms front and centre for Alberta’s Open Farm Days
Open Farm Days continues to enjoy success in its 14th year running, as Alberta farms and agri-businesses were showcased to increase awareness on how food gets to the dinner plate.
Some of the usual conditions around release include a prohibition from contacting the alleged victim, a requirement to remain in a specified territorial jurisdiction, a prohibition from using alcohol or other drugs, curfews and requirements to report at specified times to a peace officer or other designated person.
Often when there is a newsworthy incident arising in criminal charges, many people believe that the person charged with the offence should be kept locked up pending their trial.
But for most charges under the Criminal Code of Canada, section 515(10) states that the detention of an accused in custody is justified only on one or more of the following grounds:
- To ensure their appearance in court.
- For the protection or safety of the public , where there is a substantial likelihood that the accused will, if released from custody, commit a criminal offence or interfere with the administration of justice.
- Where the detention is necessary to maintain confidence in the administration of justice, having regard to all the circumstances, including the gravity of the offence, the circumstances surrounding the commission of the offence (including whether a firearm was used) and the apparent strength of the prosecution’s case.
Along with the underlying principle in criminal law that a person is innocent until proven guilty, there is also a principle that an accused should not be detained until he is proven guilty, unless one or more of the above concerns are demonstrated to be in existence.
There are a small number of offences to which these rules do not apply, but the foregoing outlines the general principles relating to interim judicial release.
The prisons in Canada are becoming more crowded, and many of the residents in prisons are there on remand, meaning that they have been placed there as a result of being denied bail. Many of them will never be convicted of any crime and will be found not guilty at their trial.
It is therefore easy to understand how important the bail process is, and to realize that there needs to be good justification for detaining someone accused of a crime in the period before he is convicted.
