Rights and LimitsAfter an arrestPolice liberation in Scotland: not bail, not "released under investigation"
Police liberation in Scotland: not bail, not "released under investigation"
What you must do, and what you can refuse
Every claim below links to the law it comes from, with the wording quoted so you can check it yourself.
You must
Refusing is a criminal offence.
If you sign an undertaking, appear at the specified court at the specified time and comply with any conditions imposed on you while it applies.
You are only bound by this if you actually sign — a constable cannot impose an undertaking on you without your signature.
Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2016, s.26(2)
“The terms of an undertaking are that the person undertakes to—a appear at a specified court at a specified time, and b comply with any conditions imposed under subsection (3) while subject to the undertaking.”
Read it at legislation.gov.ukquote checked 2026-08-31
You can refuse
No penalty for saying no.
A constable of inspector rank or above must keep your pre-charge conditions under active review — whether there are still reasonable grounds to suspect you, and whether the conditions remain necessary and proportionate — rather than leave them running unchecked until the 28 days are up.
Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2016, s.18(3)
“A constable of the rank of inspector or above must keep under review whether or not—a there are reasonable grounds for suspecting that a person who is subject to a condition imposed under section 16(2) has committed a relevant offence, and b the condition imposed remains necessary and proportionate for the purpose of ensuring the proper conduct of the investigation into a relevant offence.”
Read it at legislation.gov.ukquote checked 2026-08-31
Lawful to refuse — but it costs you
Not an offence, but it carries a penalty or an inference.
Conditions imposed on you before you are officially accused automatically expire 28 days after they were first imposed, and cannot simply be renewed indefinitely on the same grounds.
This is a fixed statutory limit, not something the police can extend by choosing to reimpose the same condition.
Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2016, s.17(1)(a)
“at the end of the day falling 28 days after the first occasion on which a condition was imposed on the person under section 16(2) in connection with a relevant offence”
Read it at legislation.gov.ukquote checked 2026-08-31
A constable may impose conditions on your release before charge that are considered necessary and proportionate for the proper conduct of the investigation into the offence.
Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2016, s.16(2)
“If releasing the person from custody, a constable may impose any condition that an appropriate constable considers necessary and proportionate for the purpose of ensuring the proper conduct of the investigation into a relevant offence”
Read it at legislation.gov.ukquote checked 2026-08-31
A fresh condition cannot be imposed on you under investigative liberation once more than 28 days have passed since a condition was first imposed on you for the same relevant offence.
Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2016, s.16(1)(c)(ii)
“it has not been more than 28 days since the first occasion on which a condition was imposed on the person under subsection (2) in connection with a relevant offence”
Read it at legislation.gov.ukquote checked 2026-08-31
Once charged, a constable may release you on a signed undertaking, release you without one, or refuse to release you at all.
Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2016, s.25(2)
“A constable may—a if the person gives an undertaking in accordance with section 26, release the person from custody, b release the person from custody without such an undertaking, c refuse to release the person from custody.”
Read it at legislation.gov.ukquote checked 2026-08-31
An undertaking commits you to appear at a specified court and to comply with conditions such as not committing an offence, not interfering with witnesses or evidence, and not obstructing the course of justice.
Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2016, s.26(3)(a)
“that the person does not—i commit an offence, ii interfere with witnesses or evidence, or otherwise obstruct the course of justice, iii behave in a manner which causes, or is likely to cause, alarm or distress to witnesses”
Read it at legislation.gov.ukquote checked 2026-08-31
You can be arrested without a warrant if a constable has reasonable grounds to suspect you are likely to fail to comply with the terms of an undertaking — even before any actual breach.
Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2016, s.28(4)
“A constable may arrest a person without a warrant if the constable has reasonable grounds for suspecting that the person is likely to fail to comply with the terms of an undertaking given under section 25(2)(a).”
Read it at legislation.gov.ukquote checked 2026-08-31
An undertaking has no statutory maximum length: it simply runs until the end of the day you are due to appear at the court specified in it.
This is unlike the 3-month/6-month clock on pre-charge bail in England and Wales — there is no equivalent ceiling here.
Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2016, s.29(1)(a)
“at the end of the day on which the person who gave it is required by its terms to appear at a court”
Read it at legislation.gov.ukquote checked 2026-08-31
Two mechanisms, not one concept called "bail"
England and Wales talks about pre-charge bail and being “released under investigation” (RUI). Scotland has neither concept as such. The Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2016 sets out two genuinely separate release mechanisms, used at different stages, each with its own rules: investigative liberation, used before you are officially accused, and release on undertaking, used once you have been charged.
Before charge: investigative liberation, capped at 28 days
If you are released from custody before being officially accused, a constable may impose conditions considered necessary and proportionate for the proper conduct of the investigation — for example, not contacting witnesses. Unlike England’s released-under-investigation status, which the England & Wales pages on this site describe as having no statutory clock at all, Scotland puts a hard limit on this: those conditions automatically expire 28 days after they were first imposed.
That is not the only safeguard. An inspector or above must keep under active review whether there are still reasonable grounds to suspect you, and whether the conditions remain necessary and proportionate — not simply leave them running unchecked until the 28 days are up.
After charge: release on undertaking
Once you have been charged, a different mechanism applies. A constable can release you on an undertaking you sign yourself, release you without any undertaking at all, or refuse to release you. An undertaking commits you to appear at a specified court at a specified time, and to comply with conditions — not committing an offence, not interfering with witnesses or evidence, and not obstructing the course of justice, among others.
There is no equivalent here to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022’s 3-month/6-month bail clock that applies in England and Wales. An undertaking in Scotland simply runs until the date specified in it — it expires at the end of the day you are due in court, whatever that date turns out to be.
Breaching either one
Neither mechanism is a formality you can ignore. If a constable has reasonable grounds to suspect you are likely to fail to comply with the terms of an undertaking, you can be arrested without a warrant on that basis alone — before any actual breach happens, on suspicion of an intended one.
Last reviewed 2026-08-31. Next review due 2027-02-28. No solicitor has reviewed this page — see [email protected] if you think something here is wrong.