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3.1 A security is a sum of money or item of value that may be lodged with the custody officer against the accused’s surrender to custody.
3.2 Section 3(5) of the Bail Act 1976 provides that where a person is granted bail in criminal proceedings, they may be required, before release on bail, to provide a security to ensure their surrender to custody.
3.3 The decision to require a security is for the custody officer to consider. Where it is considered, it is for the custody officer to determine its extent.
3.4 A security should not normally be taken from youths, but see paragraph 4 below.
3.5 The security may be lodged by the detainee or another person acting on their behalf.
3.6 Though not a requirement, the likely fine that might be imposed by the court in the event of a guilty plea should be considered in determining the amount of security required. In certain cases the security may exceed the eventual fine imposed by a court.
3.7 Where a person is unable to provide adequate security, the custody officer should consider bail with conditions, or refuse bail if there are the required grounds to believe that the detained person may fail to appear at court in answer to their bail.
3.8 Before any security is accepted, the custody officer must be satisfied that the cash/item is in the ownership of the provider of the security.
3.9 Where a security belongs to a third party, the custody officer must be satisfied that the third party is aware that the security will be forfeited if the accused fails to surrender at the appointed time.
3.10 A security is normally provided in cash, although exceptionally goods may be offered as security. All the custody officer will need to be mindful of is any storage implications or difficulties in realising these goods for cash.
3.11 Cheques, credit cards and other non-cash payments should not be accepted.