The remand or detention of a suspect is the process of keeping a person who has been arrested in custody, normally in a remand prison, prior to a trial, conviction or sentencing. The word "remand" is used generally in common law jurisdictions to describe pre-trial detention; other legal systems use varying terms and phrases. Pre-trial detention differs fundamentally from post-adjudicatory detention, or imprisonment.
In many western-style democracies imprisonment without trial is considered to be in contradiction to the idea that a suspect is innocent until proven guilty, and for this reason pre-trial detention is usually subject to safeguards and restrictions as to its permissible duration.
Where the courts cannot be persuaded that a suspect should be remanded in custody ahead of trial - for instance in the interests of "public safety" - a suspect will be released on bail until trial (or, in some cases, sentencing).
The pre-charge detention period is the period of time during which an individual can be held and questioned by police, prior to being charged with an offence. Not all countries have such a concept, and in those that do, the period for which a person may be detained without charge varies by jurisdiction.