Family members in Shenzhen detained under criminal charges? Don't panic. The golden 37 days allow you to do three things that can triple the success rate of obtaining bail pending trial.

Last Wednesday at 11 PM, a woman living in Longhua, Shenzhen, called, her voice trembling—her husband, a technical director at a tech company in Nanshan, had been taken from his office by police that afternoon on suspicion of infringing trade secrets. All she had in hand was a "Detention Notice" stating "suspected of damaging computer information systems." She asked me a question that almost every family member asks: "Lawyer, can he still be released?"
This issue hides the most critical window period in criminal defense—the golden 37 days. Today, I will address the questions that family members care about most, all at once.

Answer: Because 37 days is the legally defined "rescue window." Once this point passes, the difficulty doubles.
Article 91 of the Criminal Procedure Law stipulates that the maximum time for public security organs to request approval of arrest is 30 days, and the maximum time for the procuratorate to review and approve the arrest is 7 days, totaling 37 days. In other words, counting from the day the person is taken away, if the procuratorate decides not to approve the arrest within 37 days, the person can be released; once the arrest is approved, the difficulty of obtaining bail pending trial afterward will increase by several orders of magnitude.
The approval rate for arrest in criminal cases in Shenzhen is around 85%. That number looks intimidating, but flip it around—there's still 15% of room to fight for. In practice, when lawyers get involved within the 37-day window, the success rate for obtaining bail pending trial is roughly three times higher than when families just wait on their own. Simply put, these 37 days aren't meant to make you anxious—they're meant for you to take action.
First thing: confirm the investigating unit and the suspected charge. The detention notice will state it, but often in vague terms—for instance, does "suspected of fraud" mean telecom fraud or contract fraud? Different charges require completely different defense strategies. What family members should do is not guess, but promptly retain a lawyer to visit the detention center and ask clearly in person.
Second thing: gather evidence of "innocence or lesser guilt." Many family members think the law is the lawyer's business and that they can't help. That's actually wrong. For example, if a company is suspected of illegally absorbing public deposits, family members can provide employee attendance records to prove that the person involved is just an ordinary salesperson and didn't participate in decision-making—these materials will be useful to the lawyer after the meeting.
Third thing: Submit the "Application for Release on Bail Pending Investigation" and the "Legal Opinion on Non-Approval of Arrest" within the golden 37-day window. These two documents are not mere formalities—they are meant to drive home the points of "no social danger," "insufficient evidence," and "the basic facts of the case have been clarified" so deeply that they stick in the minds of the case-handling officers.
Our law firm once handled a case where a senior executive of a Shenzhen company was criminally detained. On the 9th day, the family came to us. After our meeting, we identified a critical issue—the method used to determine the amount involved in the case was flawed, as part of the sum was actually from normal business transactions. On the 16th day, we submitted a detailed legal opinion to the procuratorate, and on the 21st day, the procuratorate issued a decision not to approve the arrest, and the individual was released. Later, the case was directly dropped during the review and prosecution stage. Throughout the entire process, we seized the 37-day window.
No. Release on bail pending trial is only a "change of compulsory measures," not a "conclusion of the case." The person is out, but the case is still moving forward.
During the period of release on bail pending trial, you must comply with the regulations: be available at all times when summoned, do not leave your place of residence, and do not interfere with witnesses testifying. Many people mistakenly believe that once they are out, everything is fine, only to leave the city without permission for business trips elsewhere, resulting in the confiscation of their bail money or even being taken back into custody. There are too many lessons like this.
On the flip side, obtaining bail pending trial is indeed a positive signal—it suggests the procuratorial organ tends to believe that "the social danger is not significant" or "the evidence is not yet solid enough." At this stage, what lawyers can do is continue to follow up on the case, striving for a non-prosecution or a lighter-sentence defense during the review and prosecution phase.
Criminal defense is different from civil and commercial litigation. It's not about eloquence, but about familiarity with case-handling procedures and the sense of proportion in communicating with case-handling authorities. In criminal cases in Shenzhen, the approval of arrest rests with the district procuratorate, the prosecution also rests with the district procuratorate, and trial takes place in the district court—each district has its own pace and standards in handling cases. Local lawyers, having been through the process many times, know exactly which stage requires effort and which point calls for patience.
Guangdong Zhiming Law Firm has been rooted in Shenzhen for 26 years. Its director, lawyer Shen Jinlong, has practiced law for 26 years, holds a master's degree from Fudan University, is a senior economist, and previously served as a senior executive at a state-owned enterprise. His独创 "Zhiming Artistic Litigation" system has won dual innovation awards from both the Guangdong Provincial Bar Association and the Shenzhen Bar Association, with over 10,000 cases handled cumulatively. Criminal defense is one of Zhiming Law Firm's core practices, particularly in cases involving corporate executives and companies accused of unit crimes, where Lawyer Shen's team has extensive experience—after all, many people understand the law, but few lawyers understand both the law and the logic of business operations.
If your family is facing a similar situation, don't wait, don't panic, and don't search randomly online. Call 0755-25986969 right away. Zhiming Law Firm is located at Room 1802, Tower A, Xintian Century Business Center, Shixia North Second Street, Futian District, Shenzhen. Meet with them once and bring the detention notice. The lawyer will tell you exactly what to do at every step going forward.
The golden 37 days—every day is money, every day is freedom. The key is, you have to get moving.