Released Under Investigation: What Happens Next?

You have left the police station. You were not charged, but you were not told the matter is over. Instead, an officer said you are being "released under investigation." If you now feel stuck in an uncertain in-between — neither charged nor cleared — that is an unsettling position to be in. This article explains what released under investigation (RUI) means and what usually happens next.

What "released under investigation" means

Being released under investigation means the police suspect an offence may have been committed but do not yet have enough evidence to ask the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) for a charging decision. You are neither charged nor cleared. The investigation stays open.

What matters in practice is what RUI is not. Unlike pre-charge bail, RUI comes with no bail conditions — no curfew, no exclusion zone, no requirement to report to a police station — and no fixed date by which the police must make a decision. You are legally a free citizen who happens to be under an ongoing inquiry.

	Released under investigation	Pre-charge bail
Bail conditions	None	Can be imposed (curfew, exclusion zone, reporting)
Statutory time limit	No	Yes
Periodic review	No	Yes
Fixed date to return	No	Yes — you answer bail on a set date

How long can it last?

RUI often lasts longer than people expect. Pre-charge bail carries statutory time limits and periodic review. RUI does not. There is no legal deadline, so an investigation can run for many months, and in complex cases more than a year, before any decision is reached.

Individual police forces apply internal review timetables, but these are administrative safeguards, not binding legal limits. Delays are common where forensic work is involved, and the analysis of seized phones, laptops and other digital devices is now one of the biggest causes of long RUI periods.

What the police are doing during this time

A lack of contact does not mean the investigation has stalled. During an RUI period investigators may be taking statements from further witnesses, obtaining CCTV, financial or medical records, and sending physical samples for forensic analysis. Where a device has been seized, it may sit in a queue for digital examination for a considerable time. When they believe the evidence is sufficient, they refer the file to the CPS, which independently applies its test for whether to charge.

What you should be doing

You cannot control the pace of the investigation, but a few sensible steps protect your position:

• Preserve anything relevant. Keep messages, emails, receipts, photographs, and any material that supports your account. Do not delete or alter it — and never wipe or remotely erase a device the police have seized, as that can itself be treated as a serious offence.
• Do not contact witnesses or the complainant. Even a well-meaning attempt to "sort things out" or apologise can be treated as witness interference and lead to immediate arrest. Leave all communication to your lawyer.
• Stay contactable. You are free to work and to travel, but the police must be able to reach you. Missing correspondence — including a summons — can have serious consequences.
• Get legal advice while your memory is fresh. The detail of what happened fades quickly. Recording your account early, with a criminal defence specialist, means it is preserved accurately rather than reconstructed months later.

Taking early advice does not guarantee any particular result and cannot promise that a charge will be avoided. What it can do is help you understand your rights, avoid costly mistakes, and, where appropriate, make measured and timely representations on your behalf. This kind of early "pre-charge engagement" work is supported by the Attorney General's Guidelines on Disclosure.

When can the police re-arrest you?

Being on RUI does not put an end to police powers. You can be re-arrested if compelling new evidence emerges (for example, deleted material recovered from a device), if you are suspected of committing a further offence while under investigation, or if you are believed to be interfering with the inquiry. A re-arrest restarts the custody process and any further interview under caution.

How an RUI period ends

Eventually the investigation reaches one of a few outcomes: no further action (the case is closed and you are cleared), an out-of-court disposal such as a caution, a re-arrest, or a charge — usually delivered by post as a "postal requisition" telling you when and where to attend court. You will normally be notified of the decision in writing.

Being released under investigation is an uncertain and often stressful status, but it is a defined stage of the process with a clear structure behind it. Knowing how that process works makes the wait easier to manage.