How do I get bail?

Bail is a court order that lets you stay in the community while your criminal case is in the court system. If you're arrested and the police do not release you from custody, you get a bail hearing.

You should get a bail hearing within 24 hours of being arrested. But it may take several days before you get released, especially if you're arrested on the weekend. Try to arrange for any child-care or coverage at your job as soon as possible.

If you do not get bail, you must stay in jail until your case is over.

A judge or justice of the peace decides if you should get bail. They also decide what rules you must follow while in the community. These rules are called bail conditions.

What the court considers

To get bail, the court must believe that you are not a risk to the public or the justice system.

If the Crown does not think you should get bail, they must convince the court that you're a risk to the public or the justice system based on 1 or more of these reasons:

• primary – you might not go to court when required
• secondary – you might commit another crime, or the public may not be safe while you're out on bail
• tertiary – the public might feel that the justice system is not working if you get bail

These reasons are called grounds of detention.

Reverse onus

In most cases, the Crown must convince the court that you're a risk to the public. But in some cases, you must convince the court that you're not a risk. This is called a reverse onus bail hearing.

You will have a reverse onus bail hearing if you're charged with certain crimes or have a certain criminal history.

Bail plan

Your lawyer or duty counsel helps you prepare a bail plan to address any concerns the Crown has about your release. For example, your bail plan could include where you will live and that you will have a surety to supervise you. Your lawyer or duty counsel presents your bail plan to the court at your bail hearing.