Arrest Warrants

If a defendant does not present themself to the court, then the court might take the decision to have them arrested and presented instead.

This is achieved by issuing a warrant for their arrest. Such a warrant is often referred to as a warrant without bail, or warrant not backed by bail, because the police must present the arrested person at court and cannot release them under any other circumstances.

There three commonly used pieces of legislation that allow the Magistrates' Court to issue such a warrant:

• Section 1 of the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980;
• Section 13 of the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980;
• Section 7 of the Bail Act 1976.

I should begin by clarifying the myth that there must be a physical paper warrant, which is signed by an appropriate judicial office holder (in this case either a Magistrate or District Judge). This is not the case. When a warrant is issued the court's instruction is delivered electronically to the police. There is no paper and no ink.

Addressing each of these provisions in turn:

Section 1 of the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980:

The powers in this section, which are exercisable by a single Justice, relate to securing a defendant's attendance at court via the issue of a summons or warrant.

It allows a Justice, on the basis of written information laid, to issue a warrant for the arrest of a person suspected of committing an indictable offence or one punishable by imprisonment.

A warrant can also be issued in relation to a person suspected of any offence if their address is not suitably established for a summons to be served on them.

In the case of an indictable offence, a Justice can issue a warrant for the arrest of the defendant at any time. This applies even if a summons has previously been issued.

In practice this particular warrant legislation is seldom used, as the preference is always to secure attendance via charge, summons or postal requisition instead.

If warrant was the default way of getting defendants to court, there wouldn't be an empty police cell anywhere in the country!

Section 13 of the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980:

The powers in this section allow the court, under certain circumstances, to issue a warrant for the arrest of a defendant who fails to appear and is not subject to bail.

These powers only apply if the court decides against proceeding with the matter in the absence of the defendant. The preference is always to proceed if at all possible.

A warrant can only be issued if the offence to which it relates is punishable by imprisonment, or the court, having convicted the defendant, proposes to impose a disqualification on them.

Where a defendant fails to appear on summons, a warrant can only be issued if: 

• Either, it appears to the satisfaction of the court that the summons was served on the defendant in good time;
• Or, it is the second (or subsequent) adjournment of the matter; the defendant was present at the previous hearing on the matter; and at the previous hearing the defendant was made aware of the time and venue of the hearing they have failed to attend.

This section does not apply to any adjournment made when the defendant is convicted in their absence.

Section 7 of the Bail Act 1976:

The powers in this section allow the court to issue a warrant for the arrest of a defendant subject to bail who fails to surrender to the custody of the court at the appointed time.

In my experience, this is by far the most commonly used legislation in relation to arrest warrants.

Magistrates' Court bail is discussed at length in a previous article.

Further reading:

Blackstones' Magistrates' Court Handbook (aff. link)