A surety (sometimes misspelled as “an assurity”) plays an important role in the court process, and can be a key aspect of an accused person’s plan for their release from custody on bail.
In Canada, bail works according to “the ladder principle.” Essentially, everyone is entitled to reasonable bail, and the presumption is release on bail with no conditions. Based on the nature or number of criminal charges, an accused person’s prior criminal record, or other personal factors, the requirements for an appropriate release plan will increase.
A surety is a component of a very strict release plan. In fact, a surety release is essentially as strict as bail can get in Canada. Surety releases are generally reserved for accused people charged with very serious offences, or who have a number of outstanding criminal charges, or who have previously breached their release orders.
- A surety is the accused person’s “jailor in the community.” Their role is to ensure that the accused person who is released on bail attends court,
- does not re-offend, and
- follows their release conditions.
This is a significant responsibility, so usually, sureties are someone with a close relationship to the accused person – like their parent, sibling, or close friend. A surety should ideally be in a position to house the accused person while the accused is out on bail, as part of their obligations to ensure the accused person is compliant with their conditions. A surety may even be required to testify to their ability to supervise the accused person during the course of the bail hearing.
As part of their responsibilities, if a surety believes that an accused person is re-offending or breaching their conditions, the surety is obligated to report this to the police or to the accused person’s bail supervisor.
To ensure that a surety is serious about supervising the accused person, there is a financial obligation for a surety. This can be a cash payment, or a no-cash payment. A cash payment is exactly what it sounds like: the surety pays a certain amount of money to the court to secure the accused person’s release. If the accused person does not breach their release or re-offend, then after the charges are concluded, the surety can get their money back. In a no-cash surety release, the surety pledges money towards the accused person’s release. This means they do not pay anything up front, but if the accused person breaches their release conditions, then the surety could lose the money they pledged. If the accused person breaches their release, and the surety cannot pay the no-cash amount they pledged to the court previously, they could have to spend time in custody to make up for the unpaid money. Both the cash or no-cash pledge
from the surety are meant to impress upon potential sureties the importance of ensuring the accused person complies with their bail.
Because being a surety is such a large responsibility, it is critical that potential sureties are making an informed choice to sign on for the task. Individuals interested in being a surety should be aware of the accused person’s outstanding criminal charges and allegations, and their criminal record, prior to agreeing to be a surety. Sureties must also be over the age of 18, and cannot be acting as a surety for more than one person at one time.
Sureties also have the ability to remove themselves as a surety for someone by making an application to the court. This typically results in a warrant being released for the accused person, or the accused person returning to custody.
If you are considering signing on to be an accused person’s surety, but have further questions about it, feel free to contact the lawyers at Dawson, Duckett, Garcia, & Johnson today by phoning 780-424-9058. Many of our lawyers offer independent legal advice to potential sureties, to ensure that they are making an informed and educated choice.