[Direct answer]After being criminally detained, the family should immediately do four things: First, request the "Detention Notice" from the case-handling unit to confirm the suspected crime, the date of criminal detention, and the place of detention; Second, calculate the critical 37-day period (30 days of detention plus 7 days of review and arrest), which is the key period to strive for not being approved for arrest; Third, arrange for a defense lawyer to meet with the detainee as soon as possible. According to Article 85 of the Criminal Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China, if the lawyer holds a practicing certificate, a law firm certificate, and a power of attorney to request a meeting, the detention center shall arrange it within 48 hours at the latest; Fourth, prepare the guarantors or bail required for bail pending trial. Do not collude with others to provide false testimony, destroy evidence, or believe in the myth of "using connections to bail out someone". According to Article 83 of the Criminal Procedure Law, the family should be notified within 24 hours after detention.

I. Legal basis and interpretation of provisions

1. Article 83 and Article 91 of the Criminal Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China (amended on October 26, 2018)

Article 83 requires that when the public security organ detains a person, it must present a detention certificate and notify the detainee's family within 24 hours after the detention, including the reasons for the detention and the place of detention, except where it is impossible to notify them or where the detainee is suspected of committing crimes endangering national security or terrorist activities, or where the notification may hinder the investigation. Article 91 stipulates that if the public security organ considers it necessary to arrest a detained person, it shall submit the case to the people's procuratorate for review and approval within three days after the detention, and the time limit may be extended by one to four days in special circumstances; for major suspects who commit crimes by roving around, commit multiple crimes, or commit crimes in gangs, the time limit for submitting the case for review and approval may be extended to 30 days. The people's procuratorate shall make a decision on whether to approve or disapprove the arrest within seven days after receiving the document for approval of arrest. Together, these two articles form the legal basis for the "Golden 37-Day Rule".

2. Articles 67 and 95 of the Criminal Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China (amended on October 26, 2018)

Article 67 specifies the circumstances in which bail pending trial may be applied, including those who may be sentenced to control, detention, or an additional punishment applied independently; those who may be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment or above but whose social dangerousness will not be caused by bail pending trial; those who suffer from serious diseases, are unable to take care of themselves, or are pregnant or breastfeeding their own infants and whose social dangerousness will not be caused by bail pending trial; and those whose custody period has expired and whose cases have not been concluded and who need to be granted bail pending trial. Bail pending trial shall be implemented by the public security organ. Article 95 stipulates that suspects, defendants, their legal representatives, close relatives, or attorneys have the right to apply for a change of compulsory measures. After receiving the application, the people's court, the people's procuratorate, and the public security organ shall make a decision within three days. This article is the direct basis for family members to submit a written application for bail and is also the source of the "three-day reply to the application" time limit.

3. Practical judicial interpretation guidelines

In practice, whether to approve an arrest mainly depends on the social danger and the degree of evidence fixation. Confession of guilt and remorse, obtaining the victim's forgiveness, having a fixed residence, a stable job, being a first-time or occasional offender, and non-violent crimes are usually conducive to making a decision not to approve the arrest; conversely, having a criminal record, evidence of collusion or destruction of evidence, uncompensated victim losses, and the possibility of committing new crimes are likely to lead to the approval of the arrest. It should be noted that bail pending trial does not mean the end of the case, but only a change in the coercive measures. What family members should do most during the golden 37 days is to fix the above-mentioned favorable circumstances in written materials and submit them to the case-handling organ through a lawyer.

II. Henglue Lawyer's Real Case (Detailed Review)

Review of the case:On December 20, 2025, W* was criminally detained for the crime of operating a gambling house and was detained in a detention center. Due to her business failure and employment difficulties during the pandemic, she started working as a chat streamer after getting involved with overseas online gambling platforms. The live-streaming interface was embedded with gambling advertisements and recharge entry points. W* claimed that she only engaged in ordinary chat interactions and did not actively induce bets, but she had no control over the implanted gambling functions. When the public security organ investigated the platform, a batch of streamers, including her, were included in the crackdown. After her criminal detention, her family entrusted the Beijing Henglu Law Firm to handle the case for her.

The focus of the controversy:The first focus is on the status and role of W in the joint crime. He only provided traffic-driving assistance and did not participate in the operation of the casino or profit-sharing. The second focus is on personal danger and health factors. W suffers from diseases such as pituitary tumor and hepatitis B that require continuous treatment. The third focus is on whether he meets the conditions for bail pending trial.

Our position and that of the other party are as follows:W's family members hope to change the compulsory measures to bail pending trial, arguing that W is just a streamer with a minor role, and he needs medical treatment for his illness, so he shouldn't be detained for a long time. The investigation organ detained W on suspicion of operating a gambling house, and identified his streamer's income and the platform's gambling funds as illegal criminal proceeds, which aggravated the determination of the circumstances of the case.

Attorney's Strategy and Legal Opinion:The attorney handling the case met with W* at the earliest opportunity and focused on four key points: Firstly, W* played a minor role in the joint crime, only providing referral assistance and not participating in the core stages, thus qualifying as an accomplice; Secondly, W* truthfully confessed his guilt and showed remorse after being arrested; Thirdly, W* suffers from pituitary tumors and other diseases requiring continuous treatment, making prolonged detention inappropriate; Fourthly, W* is a first-time offender, non-violent offender, and poses low social danger. The attorney built his argument based on Article 67 of the Criminal Procedure Law and Articles 27 and 67 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China: In terms of legal circumstances, he emphasized W*'s status as an accomplice, his voluntary confession, and his agreement to surrender all illicit gains and pay fines in advance; In terms of personal danger, he pointed out W*'s lack of criminal records and absence of motives to evade or interfere with the investigation; In terms of health, he noted W*'s need for continuous treatment; In procedural terms, W*'s family is willing to provide a guarantor or bail, and W* has promised to attend court hearings promptly upon summons.

The court's reasoning and the outcome of the case:The case-handling organ reviewed and adopted the defense attorney's main arguments. On January 19, 2026, after being detained for 30 days, W* was granted bail and released from custody in accordance with the law. The specific defense strategy of this case can be referred to in the following document:Criminal defense and legal services for criminal case filingThe prompt is: If the family hires a lawyer within the first week after the detention, the lawyer will have time to complete the meeting and submit the written opinion before requesting approval for the arrest.

This case is handled by Beijing Henglu Law Firm.Zhu GuijingThe attorney (practice certificate number: 11101202011246828, subject to the certificate issued by the judicial administrative organ) acts as the agent.

III. Frequently Asked Questions

Q1: What legal documents will the family receive?

According to Article 83 of the Criminal Procedure Law, the public security organ shall notify the family of the detained person within 24 hours after the detention. In practice, the "Detention Notice" is usually delivered, which specifies the suspected crime, the detention time, and the detention center where the detainee is held. After the arrest, unless it is impossible to notify the family, the public security organ shall notify the family within 24 hours after the arrest. After receiving the document, the family should immediately check the detention date, calculate the 37-day time limit accordingly, and keep the original document properly. The original document will be needed for subsequent applications for bail and the appointment of a lawyer.

Q2: Can family members attend the meeting?

No. During the investigation stage, only defense lawyers are allowed to meet with criminal suspects in custody according to law, and family members do not have the right to meet with them. According to Article 85 of the Criminal Procedure Law, the subjects of the meeting are limited to defense lawyers, and they need to hold a lawyer's practice certificate, a certificate from the law firm, and a power of attorney. Family members can only learn about the physical condition of the suspect and the general situation of the case through lawyers, or send clothes and deposit living expenses according to regulations. Special reminder: Do not try to entrust others to pass notes or messages. Once it is identified as collusion, it may directly affect the evaluation of bail and lenient treatment. For the arrangement of lawyer's meetings and defense at various stages, please refer to the relevant provisions.Criminal defense and legal services for criminal case filing.

Q3: What are the requirements for bail pending trial?

According to Article 67 of the Criminal Procedure Law, there are mainly four circumstances: those who may be sentenced to control, detention, or independently apply additional punishments; those who may be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment or above, and whose social danger can be avoided by applying bail pending trial; those who suffer from serious diseases, are unable to take care of themselves, or are pregnant or breastfeeding their own babies, and whose social danger can be avoided by applying bail pending trial; and those whose custody period has expired but the case has not been completed and who need to apply for bail pending trial. In practice, pleading guilty and showing remorse, making restitution and reaching a settlement, being a first-time offender or a habitual offender, and having a fixed residence and a guarantor are common plus points.

Q4: How long will it take to receive a response after applying for bail pending trial?

According to Article 95 of the Criminal Procedure Law, suspects, defendants, their legal representatives, close relatives, or defense attorneys have the right to apply for a change in coercive measures. After receiving the application, the people's courts, people's procuratorates, and public security organs shall make a decision within three days; if they do not agree to change the coercive measures, they shall inform the applicant and explain the reasons for their disagreement. In practice, if the case has been submitted for approval of arrest, lawyers usually submit the application for bail and the legal opinion on the refusal to approve the arrest to the investigation organ and the procuratorial organ simultaneously, following two parallel paths to increase the success rate.

Q5: What is the most inappropriate thing for family members to do right now?

The three types of behaviors that should be avoided the most are: first, contacting co-defendants or witnesses to "align their statements", which may be regarded as colluding to fabricate evidence and interfering with the testimony, directly increasing the social dangerousness evaluation; second, destroying or transferring items, accounts, and chat records related to the case, which may be suspected of helping to destroy evidence; third, trusting so-called "intermediaries who can bail out people" and paying large amounts of "relationship fees". These behaviors not only fail to help secure bail, but may also put family members themselves at legal risk. The correct approach is to hire a lawyer as soon as possible and submit all claims and evidence materials to the lawyer for presentation through legal channels.

IV. Suggestions for Protecting Rights

  • On the day I received the "Detention Notice", I immediately noted down the date of criminal detention. Based on the maximum detention period of 30 days plus 7 days, I calculated the 37-day time limit and listed the tasks that needed to be completed in reverse order at each key stage.
  • Complete the lawyer's authorization within one week, and prepare all the necessary documents at once, including the ID card, proof of kinship, and power of attorney. Arrange the meeting before applying for approval of the arrest.
  • Prepare the bail materials according to Article 67 of the Criminal Procedure Law: letters of understanding, compensation certificates, medical records, unit certificates, property ownership certificates, or guarantor materials.
  • Never contact co-defendants or witnesses to coordinate their statements, and never transfer or destroy items and records related to the case, to avoid putting family members at risk of new legal problems.
  • Obtaining bail successfully does not mean the end of the case. The defendant is still required to report on schedule, not to leave the city or county where he/she lives, and to cooperate with the subsequent review, prosecution, and trial procedures.

If you are facing similar problems, it is recommended that you consult a professional lawyer as soon as possible with the evidence materials, so as to avoid missing the statutory time limit. →Criminal defense legal services·Attorney Zhu Guiyin·Beijing Henglue Law Firm