Police bail and detention before court

Police bail and detention before court 

Presumption in favour of release on bail 

There is a statutory presumption in favour of releasing a juvenile on police bail if they cannot be brought before a Juvenile Court immediately. Under the Juvenile Offenders Ordinance (Cap. 226), where a person apparently under the age of 16 is apprehended and cannot be brought “forthwith” before a court, a police officer of the rank of Inspector or above must inquire into the case. 

In most cases, the officer should release the juvenile on a recognisance. A recognisance is a legal promise or bond, often entered into by a parent or guardian, to ensure that the juvenile attends court when required. 

When police bail may be refused 

Police bail may only be refused in limited circumstances. These include where: 

1. The charge involves homicide or another grave crime; 
2. It is necessary to remove the juvenile from association with undesirable persons; or 
3. The officer has reason to believe that release would defeat the ends of justice. 

This means that detention should not be used simply as a matter of convenience. The starting point is that a juvenile should be released unless there is a proper legal reason for continued detention. 

Place of detention if bail is refused 

If bail is refused, a juvenile should not normally be kept in a police cell. Instead, he should be detained in a place of detention (currently the Tuen Mun Children and Juvenile Home) until he can be brought before a court, unless the juvenile is of “unruly or depraved character” or has a medical condition making such detention inadvisable. If the officer concludes that it is impracticable to detain the juvenile in a place of detention, the juvenile will be kept in the police station. 

To prevent “criminal contamination” (i.e., corruption by older criminals), the law strictly requires that juveniles be segregated from adult offenders while detained in a police station.