Remand (detention)

Remand (also known as pre-trial detention or provisional detention) is the process of detaining a person who has been arrested and charged with an offense until their trial. A person who is on remand is held in a prison or detention centre, or held under house arrest. Varying terminology is used, but 'remand' is generally used in common law jurisdictions and in Europe, preventative detention. Detention before charge is referred to as custody and continued detention after conviction is referred to as imprisonment.—Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution Remand (also known as pre-trial detention or provisional detention) is the process of detaining a person who has been arrested and charged with an offense until their trial. A person who is on remand is held in a prison or detention centre, or held under house arrest. Varying terminology is used, but 'remand' is generally used in common law jurisdictions and in Europe, preventative detention. Detention before charge is referred to as custody and continued detention after conviction is referred to as imprisonment. Because imprisonment without trial is contrary to the presumption of innocence, in liberal democracies pre-trial detention is usually subject to safeguards and restrictions. Typically, a suspect will only be remanded if it is likely that they could commit a serious crime, interfere with the investigation, or fail to turn up in court. In the majority of court cases, the suspect will be outside custody while awaiting trial, often with restrictions such as bail. Research on pretrial detention in the United States has found that pretrial detention increases the likelihood of convictions, primarily because individuals who would otherwise be acquitted or have their charges dropped enter guilty pleas. The pre-charge detention period is the period of time during which an individual can be held and questioned by police, prior to being charged with an offence. Not all countries have such a concept, and in those that do, the period for which a person may be detained without charge varies by jurisdiction. The prohibition of prolonged detention without charge, habeas corpus, was first introduced in England about a century after the 1215 Magna Carta; the use of habeas corpus ad subjiciendum in 1305 was cited by William Blackstone. Under Article 8 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Basic Freedoms of the Czech Republic, which has the same legal standing as the Czech Constitution, a suspect must be immediately familiarized with the grounds of detention, must be interviewed and within 48 hours either released or charged and handed over to a court. The court then has a further 24 hours either to order a custody, or to release the person detained. Detailed rules of detention are included in the Criminal Procedural Code. The police may arrest and detain a suspect after obtaining prosecutor's consent. In an urgent case the police may detain a suspect without the consent. In both cases, however, the police detention may take place only when grounds for pre-trial detention exist (see below). The statutory limits of 48 + 24 hours must be complied with and reaching the time limit should aways trigger immediate release, unless a court has ordered pre-trial custody. Anybody may detain a person, who was caught while perpetrating a crime (not a misdemeanor) or immediately after it, when capturing of the perpetrator is necessary to either ascertain the perpetrator's identity or to prevent the perpetrator from escaping or to secure evidence. The perpetrator must immediately be handed over to the police, or when that is not possible, detention of the perpetrator must be immediately reported to the police. In the United States, a person is protected by the federal constitution from being held in prison unlawfully. The right to have one's detention reviewed by a judge is called habeas corpus. The U.S. Constitution states that 'The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it'. A declaration of a state of emergency can suspend the right to habeas corpus.