Police custody (inverzekeringstelling): who decides and how is it reviewed?

Staying at the office longer requires a new decision

If you are not allowed to go home after an arrest, several legal phases can follow each other. From the inside, that sometimes feels like one uninterrupted stay in a cell. However, it is important to know on which decision the retention rests at each moment. Detention for investigation, detention and judicial pre-trial detention (bewaring) are different phases. They have different conditions, decision makers and control moments. An explanation that only mentions the total number of days therefore misses an important part of your legal position.

This article focuses on detention: the early investigation phase in which the public prosecutor or assistant public prosecutor decides that you will remain available for the investigation longer. Our editorial approach is to follow the liberty decision and the substantive suspicion separately. The question “can I be detained now?” is not the same as asking “will I be convicted in the end?” Someone who disputes the accusation also needs concrete information about the order, the timeline and legal assistance.

Who gets to decide and on what grounds?

The conditions are set out in articles 57 and 58 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Detention serves the interests of the investigation and is only possible if there is a suspicion of an offense for which pre-trial detention is permitted. The law contains more than one starting point for the latter category. Simply saying that “it carries a penalty of four years in prison” does not fully reflect all legal options. Let the lawyer check the specific fact and the applicable regulations.

The police describe custody and legal assistance as their own step after the first phase. The decision should not be confused with the subsequent judicial provisional detention (bewaring) by a judge. Moreover, the assistant public prosecutor is not an independent judge because the word “officer” is in the job title. Ask who gave the order, at what time and for what reason. This makes it possible to test the decision against the correct conditions.

What information do you get from the order?

Start with the name of the decision, the date, time and description of the suspicion. Check whether you understand the research reason for longer retention. An order is not a final judgment on guilt. It is an item that your lawyer will need to assess the legality and duration. Keep the received copy with other documents from the same case, so that a summary from a conversation does not take the place of the actual decision.

If you have a language problem, ask how the important parts are communicated or translated in an understandable manner. The guide to an interpreter in the police and justice system discusses that distinction. The circumstances in which you are heard may also be relevant: were you able to understand questions, has legal assistance been organized and has a need for medical care been communicated? Note specific events. A detailed story about how unfair the stay feels cannot replace the necessary control of the exact moments and decisions.

Three days of detention and a test within three days and eighteen hours

The detention order is valid for a maximum of three days. In case of urgent necessity, the public prosecutor can extend the period once for a maximum of three days. In addition, there is a rule that a suspect who is still in custody is brought before the examining magistrate for the legality test no later than three days and eighteen hours after the arrest. The police explanation about detention mentions both parts. One term does not replace the other.

Misunderstandings easily arise here. The time of arrest is not necessarily the time of the detention order. Moreover, the first hours of stopping for research have their own calculation. The total of six possible days of detention does not mean that you can be detained for six days without a judicial review. Let the lawyer calculate the actual clock based on the documents. A general online sum is insufficient for this.

A timeline that someone else can also check

Before the meeting, create an overview in which events and the source of the time are listed side by side. State the arrest, the presentation to the assistant officer, the start of the detention for investigation, the interrogation regarding detention, the order and any extension. Add the planned or actual moment of arraignment to the examining magistrate. For each point in time, write whether it comes from a document, was communicated by someone or only concerns your own memory.

That distinction is more than administration. If a time is disputed, it must be clear why. A note “Friday afternoon” may be a starting point, but does not prove the exact time an order was given. An incorrectly transferred date can unnecessarily cloud a discussion about a term. Therefore, keep original documents and have missing information requested from the lawyer. A loved one can help organize mail and contact details, but cannot take over the legal term calculation with certainty based on individual telephone calls.

An extension requires assessment and is not an automatic continuation

The existence of a maximum duration does not give the government a general right to use that entire period. The need for further detention must be assessed within the legal conditions. The National Government describes the possible next steps after detention, including release and further arraignment. In the event of an extension, ask which decision has been made and which copy accompanies it.

Personal problems such as necessary medication, caring for children or impending loss of work are important to pass on. They do not simply make an extension impossible. Conversely, their practical significance should not disappear behind the statement that there is a legal maximum term. Discuss both the legal basis and the concrete consequences with the lawyer. A request for release and the need to immediately address a medical care issue may arise at the same time.

What does the examining magistrate assess?

The legality test concerns the adherence and application of the relevant rules. The lawyer can raise specific flaws in the arrest, the decision or the terms. A later request from the Public Prosecution Service for judicial provisional detention (bewaring) also has its own framework. Both issues can be discussed at the same arraignment, but remain different legal questions. The fact that a meeting takes place in one room does not make the conditions equal.

Case law explains that judicial pre-trial detention (bewaring) is decided by the examining magistrate. This judicial pre-trial detention (bewaring) lasts a maximum of fourteen days and is part of pre-trial detention. The conditions for this go further than the mere wish to speak to someone. Ask your lawyer in advance what decision is requested, what documents are available for this and what points you would like to clarify yourself. You do not have to independently master the various legal concepts to be able to ask for an understandable explanation.

A published case: an error in the timeline does not always mean the end of judicial pre-trial detention (bewaring)

A concrete illustration can be found in ECLI:NL:RBNNE:2026:3070, decision of July 23, 2026. The court determined that the detention order had been issued too late, but that the suspect had been brought before a judge within the period. In the appeal by the Public Prosecution Service, the earlier rejection of the judicial pre-trial detention (bewaring) was annulled and judicial pre-trial detention (bewaring) was subsequently ordered. It was about the assessment of a freedom decision, not a final conviction.

The case does not justify the general conclusion that term errors are unimportant. It shows that the type of error, the protected interest and the associated legal consequences must be assessed separately. It is therefore more useful for the defense to document the precise moments and consequences than just asking whether “an error” was made. A ruling by one court in a specific case does not predict the outcome of another case with different facts.

Legal assistance and necessary care in this phase

If you are held in police custody, you have the right to the assistance of a lawyer. The police describe that their own lawyer can be contacted and otherwise a picket lawyer will provide assistance. Discuss with the lawyer both the interrogation and the grounds for detaining you. It is not necessary to have a complete substantive story before you can ask for help with the question of freedom.

Indicate if you are ill, need medication or cannot mentally cope with the situation. A care request is not a tactical means to direct an interrogation, but information that should enable appropriate treatment and understandable communication. The lawyer is not a doctor and cannot replace medical assessment. He can help record that the need has been reported and ask what measures are necessary for a careful discussion. The right to remain silent remains relevant for the substantive conduct of the proceedings.

What can relatives do and why do they not always receive all the information?

Uncertainty about where to stay, contact and care is often the most burdensome for family. A loved one can collect relevant contact details, necessary practical information and documents for the lawyer. That does not give a general claim to the entire file. Restrictions on contact may also be imposed in the interest of the research. Ask what information can be shared through which channel, without assuming that a missing answer means no attorney is involved.

The guide family member arrested discusses his own position in more detail. Do not coordinate statements about the facts with other parties involved. If a loved one has a document or memory that may be relevant, leave the provenance intact and discuss the information with the lawyer. For immediate care problems and acute emergencies, the appropriate professionals and services are required; a contact form on a general information site is not a substitute for that help.

Being released and still having an ongoing criminal case

When you are allowed to go home, the actual freedom situation changes. This does not automatically mean that the suspicion has disappeared or the case has been dismissed. Save received documents and ask what next step is expected. An investigation may continue, a new call may be made later or a decision by the Public Prosecution Service may follow. A release must therefore be recorded separately from any decision on prosecution. The overview of the criminal procedure helps to recognize the routes.

If judicial pre-trial detention (bewaring) is ordered, questions about lifting or suspension belong to the framework for pre-trial detention. Anyone who emerges from a case without a penalty or measure can also discuss with the lawyer whether a request for compensation is possible; own conditions and terms apply. The decision about compensation is not an automatic consequence of an unpleasant or subsequently unnecessary detention period. For such conversations, keep a factual overview of detention moments and costs incurred.

Checkpoints for a conversation about detention

The following points are intended as your own editorial agenda for consultation. They do not replace the legal test and are not a calculator for the end of your stay. Ask the lawyer to connect the timeline and decisions to the rules that apply in your case. Additional guarantees exist for young people; also use the guide juvenile criminal law.

• Which order was given, by whom, and what is the exact starting point?
• Which suspicion and which research interest are mentioned?
• Is pre-trial detention permitted for this offense under the applicable law?
• What are the demonstrable times of arrest, detention, interrogation and warrant?
• Is there an extension, with what decision and what substantiation?
• When does the legality test before the examining magistrate take place?
• Does the Public Prosecution Service also request judicial pre-trial detention (bewaring) and what conditions apply?
• Have legal assistance, language support and necessary care been arranged?
• What information may a loved one receive and what must be monitored after release?