Circular 002/2016: amendment to the definition of 'arrested juvenile'
Published 8 April 2016
© Crown copyright 2016
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The purpose of this circular is to inform you that on 26 October 2015, the definition of ‘arrested juvenile’ under section 37(15) of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) was amended by section 42 of the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015. This provision was commenced by The Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 (Commencement No. 3 and Transitional Provisions) Order 2015
Effect of the amendment
1. The upper age limit in the definition of ‘arrested juvenile’ in section 37(15) of PACE is raised from 16 to 17. This means that for the purposes of section 38 of PACE (Duties of custody officer after charge):
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the additional grounds for authorising detention after charge set out in subsection (1)(b); and
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the requirement in subsection (6) to move a juvenile who has been detained after charge to local authority accommodation pending appearance at court,
apply to any juvenile charged with an offence who appears to be under the age of 18.
2. The statutory amendment supersedes the current provisions of PACE Code C which refer to sections 37(15) and 38 of PACE. These are:
- Paragraph 1.5A(a) and Notes for Guidance 1L and 1M
- Paragraph 16.7 and Note for Guidance 16D.
Until a revised code is issued, references which indicate that the maximum age limit for transfer to local authority accommodation is 16 no longer apply.
3. There is also a corresponding amendment to The Children (Secure Accommodation) Regulations 1991 (as amended), Regulation 6. This modifies section 25 of the Children Act 1989 with regard to placing children detained under section 38(6) of PACE in secure accommodation and the considerations to be applied. The amendment simply applies the modifications previously applicable children under the age of 17 to children who are under the age of 18.
See http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/1883/contents/made
Should you have any queries, please contact John de Sousa or Brian Roberts on 020 7035 4848