Arrested During the Holidays? Here Is What You Should Know

Getting Arrested During the Holidays

If you’ve been arrested during the holidays, you may, unfortunately, experience delays. In most cases, individuals under arrest are entitled to a hearing at least 48 hours after an arrest if bail is not set or they can’t afford to pay bail. However, that timeframe is typically longer during the holidays. Since workers get the days off, those arrested have to wait until the next business day to get their hearing process started.

What to Do If You Get Arrested During the Holidays

If you get arrested during the holidays, you should use your call wisely. You should contact our team at Suzuki Law Offices to get the criminal defense you need to protect your rights. When you contact an attorney, it is important to calmly explain the situation in detail so that your attorney can start working towards your case as quickly as possible.

What Are the Chances of Getting Arrested During the Holidays?

One of the biggest problems with getting arrested during the holidays is that you have a higher chance of remaining in jail for a longer period than usual. Criminal arrests are very common during the holiday season. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), nearly 40% of all traffic-related deaths during the Christmas and New Year’s holidays involve drunk drivers, and drunk driving fatalities on New Year’s Day spike approximately 89% above the baseline daily average. Shoplifting also surges during this period. The Council on Criminal Justice found that reported shoplifting rates in November and December are consistently higher than earlier months of the year in a 23-city sample, though for most years the difference is only slight; in 2023, the holiday-season shoplifting rate was 14% above the rest of the year, the largest single-year difference observed in the study period. Retailers are estimated to lose $47.8 billion to retail theft in 2025, underscoring why law enforcement significantly increases patrols and checkpoints throughout the holiday season.

• Drinking and driving
• Domestic violence
• Theft
• Shoplifting