The Criminal Procedures Second Amendment Act (also known as the Bail Law) includes a number of strict measures regarding bail for people accused of serious offences. The Act lists very serious offences (schedule 6 offences) which include murder, rape, armed robbery and vehicle hijacking, and makes it very difficult for people who are accused of these offences to get bail. The accused will have to prove that exceptional circumstances exist before bail is granted. For Schedule 5 offences, like robbery with aggravating circumstances, drug-dealing, arms-dealing, corruption, fraud, theft or forgery of large amounts of money, the onus will be on the accused to prove that he/she should get bail. If an accused is charged with a Schedule 5 offence, and has been previously convicted of a schedule 5 or 6 offence, bail will not normally be granted. This is done in a bail hearing at court, where the accused will bring evidence to show why he/she should get bail, and the prosecutor will ask the investigating officer to provide reasons why the accused should not get bail, for example, that the accused will intimidate witnesses.

According to this law, bail applications for Schedule 5 or 6 crimes will now only be heard in Regional Courts. These cases can also not be heard outside of court hours (in other words, there is no night court). Bail can also be refused when an offence has caused community outrage although this can only happen in exceptional circumstances. Finally, a person accused of a Schedule 5 or 6 crime must disclose all previous convictions and outstanding charges against them at the bail application and they will not have the right to have access to the police docket during the bail hearing. This will help to stop the intimidation and victimisation of witnesses in court cases.