Lethbridge Criminal Lawyers

After Arrest in Lethbridge: What Happens Next

If you’ve been arrested and charged in Lethbridge, you’ll be processed at the Lethbridge Police Service headquarters at 135 1 Avenue South, Lethbridge, AB T1J 0A1 (Non-emergency: 403-328-4444).

From there, what happens next depends on the nature of the charge:

• You may be released on an undertaking signed with a police officer, requiring you to appear in court on a scheduled date.
• Otherwise, you’ll be held in custody — typically transferred to the Lethbridge Correctional Centre — and brought before a Justice of the Peace within 24 hours for a bail hearing, as required under s.503 of the Criminal Code.

During this period, your family won’t receive information if they call the police station or correctional centre directly. As your lawyers, we can reach out to your loved ones and keep them up to speed on what’s happening and what comes next.

Getting You Released at the Bail Hearing

In Alberta, first-appearance bail hearings are conducted province-wide through the Alberta Court of Justice Hearing Office, with the accused appearing by video link or teleconference from the holding facility. For Lethbridge arrests, that means you’ll appear remotely from the police cells or the Lethbridge Correctional Centre before a Justice of the Peace.

Your White & Jeet Law lawyer will immediately:

• Contact the Lethbridge Police Service or correctional facility to speak with you directly.
• Reach out to the Crown Bail Office to begin negotiating your release with the assigned prosecutor.
• Request and review the police information package outlining the allegations against you before the hearing begins.
• Represent you at the bail hearing and advocate strongly for your release.

Conditions will typically apply while your case proceeds through the system, but we push hard to keep those conditions as minimal and least restrictive as possible.

Lethbridge’s Criminal Courts

Lethbridge is the central judicial hub for the Lethbridge/Macleod Judicial District, serving southern Alberta communities including Cardston, Fort Macleod, Pincher Creek, Taber, Coaldale, and the surrounding rural areas. Each of these communities has its own Alberta Court of Justice sitting point, but they all fall within the Lethbridge circuit and are administered through the Lethbridge courthouse.

Most cases are heard at the Lethbridge Court House at 320 4 Street South, Lethbridge, AB T1J 1Z8 — the regional facility that houses both the Alberta Court of Justice and the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta.

The courthouse handles all levels of criminal proceedings, from first appearances and bail matters through to preliminary inquiries, jury trials, and complex Crown prosecutions. Lethbridge also hosts a Drug Treatment Court (DTC) — one of only seven such specialty courts in Alberta — which offers eligible non-violent offenders the opportunity to address underlying addiction issues through judicial supervision, treatment, and case management rather than incarceration. Domestic violence matters are supported by the Provincial Family Violence Treatment Program, which is integrated with police, courts, and probation services.