Police Bail and Remand
A Practical Legal Guide to Protecting Children from Unlawful Detention
Too many children are detained in police custody for longer than the law allows — and far too often overnight — despite clear statutory duties on the police and local authorities. This authoritative guide explains how the law on police bail, remand and local authority accommodation should work in practice, and how practitioners can intervene to prevent unnecessary and unlawful detention.
Produced by the Youth Justice Legal Centre, this guide combines clear legal analysis with practical, tactical advice for lawyers and professionals supporting children at the police station and post‑charge.
It is designed to help practitioners reduce time spent in custody, challenge wrongful refusals of bail, and enforce duties to transfer children out of police cells and into appropriate accommodation.
What this guide covers:
- The legal framework governing pre‑charge detention of children under PACE
- How to challenge unnecessary arrest and prolonged detention, including the use of voluntary interviews
- The presumption in favour of bail after charge and the limited grounds for refusing it
- How custody officers should approach bail decisions for children — and where practice commonly falls short
- Practical strategies for building a robust bail package, including conditions that address police concerns
- The duty under s38(6) PACE to transfer children refused bail to local authority accommodation
- The meaning of “impracticable” and why it is frequently misapplied
- Secure vs non‑secure accommodation: legal thresholds, common errors, and how to challenge them
- The statutory duties of local authorities, including recent Court of Appeal guidance
- What to do when transfers fail, including the use of custody records, juvenile detention certificates and urgent judicial review
Who this guide is for:
- Police station and youth court defence practitioners
- Youth Offending Teams and appropriate adults
- Local authority lawyers and social care professionals
- Anyone seeking to reduce the criminalisation and harmful detention of children
If you represent children at the police station or deal with bail and remand decisions, this guide gives you the legal authority and practical know‑how to push back against unlawful detention and secure better outcomes for children.
Download now for clear guidance, practical arguments, and real‑world tools you can use immediately.