ABH case gone to Crown prosecution, can I go travelling for a month?

[anon33]

I am female and had a pretty small fight with another girl after she called me a racist name. It was all caught on CCTV in a club and I have had a police interview and admited to it all. She came out with a bruise on her nose and a scratch on neck. I have no previous and a good job. It has now gone to crown prosecusion to decide if it goes to court. I still havent heard back, I would like to go travelling for a month, would I be allowed to leave or will I have to wait until its all resolved. If so, how long does the whole process normally take?

Thanks

[exdc]

Hi anon

Were you arrested for the assault or did you attend for a voluntary interview?.

If arrested, then you should have a bail date to return to the police station in approx 4 weeks and hopefully the decision should made by then (assuming the case is fairly straightforward).

[exdc]

If on police bail, you would have been served a notice (Part 4 bail), and that will state whether it is 'conditional bail', or 'unconditional bail'. If conditional bail then any imposed restrictions will be detailed on the form but in reality the only restrictions that would apply to this case would be not to contact the victim or any prosecution witness directly / or indirectly. If you are on unconditional bail then you are only liable to return to the police station at the time and date stated.

The same applies if you are 'charged' (sent to court) i.e. you will be released on either conditional / unconditional bail.

If the CPS decide to dispose of the offence by way of a Caution then you should be dealt with when you return to the police station and the matter will be finalised after you have been required to provide fingerprints / DNA sample / Photo / descriptive summary etc.

If any bail dates / court dates or restrictions would interfere with a holiday etc then you can request changes which are at the discretion of the custody Sgt.

[exdc]

I should clarify that a police custody Sgt can only change bail dates when a person is required to return to a police station i.e. on Police-bail, however the Sgt does set the first date for any court appearance.