When an accused person has been charged with a criminal offence and given judicial interim release (bail), they are generally given bail conditions that he or she must abide by while they are out of custody. These conditions can be a simple as keeping the peace and being of good behavior or as significant as 24-hour house arrest. Bail conditions vary depending on the severity of the crime and the criminal history of the accused. Conditions are often crafted based on the specific crime alleged.
Common bail conditions are:
- Keep the peace and be of good behavior
- Report to a probation officer
- Provide your address and phone number
- Abstain from contacting the complainant or certain witnesses
- No alcohol or drugs
- No weapons
- Remain in Alberta
- Curfew
When an accused person is released from custody on bail, they will have all of the bail conditions explained to them and must sign a recognisance indicating they understand the conditions and are agreeing to abide by them. It is incredibly important for an accused to fully understand their bail conditions or they may inadvertently breach and face incarceration and further criminal charges.
It is very common that after an accused has been out on bail for a period of time, the bail conditions become detrimental to their everyday quality of life and have negative impacts on their employment, health or ability to access their children and spouse. It is for this reason that an accused person on bail is able to apply to make variations of their bail conditions. Very often, certain bail conditions are put in place simply to get an accused released on bail and will be changed once released.
Certain bail conditions are so restrictive that credit is given towards a potential sentence if convicted of the alleged offence. Accused persons on 24 house arrest with or without ankle bracelets often are able to apply all of the days spent on house arrest as a credit towards their jail sentence on a 1-to-1 basis.
