When the Weyburn Police Service releases its weekly report, it usually contains at least one part about people who are facing further criminal charges after either doing something they have been explicitly told not to do, or not showing up where they are supposed to show up.  

Deputy Police Chief Brent Van De Sype explained that when a person is arrested, they aren’t always held in custody until they are scheduled to appear in court. 

“You’ll see often that when they are released, they’re released on conditions and if they fail to comply with one or more of those conditions, then there’s also charges that could result from that as well,” Van De Sype said.  

Violating the conditions of an undertaking can result in a charge for the breach, which could see an additional penalty on top of whatever charges the person is originally facing. These conditions of release are often tailored around the original offence.  

“It will depend on the situation itself, and how many times that they may have failed, but sooner or later the judge will, I guess, get a little frustrated with that and may hold them in custody,” Van De Sype added. 

When a person is charged with breaching conditions of release, there could be a reverse-onus bail situation as well, where the accused would need to demonstrate why they should be released, as opposed to the Crown having to show why the accused should be detained.  

There is also the issue of not showing up in court when a person is supposed to. 

“When an individual is dealt with police, and they are given a court appearance, they are required to appear in court, and if they don’t do so, I mean, they are either given a warrant and charges for failing to appear,” continued Van De Sype.