Duties of police
Section 50 – Duty not to detain unnecessarily
149.Section 50 provides that a constable must ensure that a person is not unreasonably or unnecessarily held in police custody.
Section 51 – Duty to consider child’s wellbeing
150.Section 51 states that in making decisions to arrest a child (defined for this section in subsection (3) as a person under 18 years of age), hold a child in police custody, interview a child about an offence which the child is suspected of committing, or charge a child with an offence, a constable must treat the need to safeguard and promote the well-being of the child as a primary consideration. This does not mean that the interests of the child are the only consideration or that they are, in all cases, the most important consideration. For example, the need to protect others may prevail.
Section 52 – Duties in relation to children in custody
151.Section 52 states that a child who is in police custody at a police station should, so far as practicable, be prevented from associating with any adult who is officially accused of committing an offence unless a constable believes it would be detrimental to the child’s wellbeing to prevent them from associating with that particular adult (subsection (2)).
Section 53 – Duty to inform Principal Reporter if child not being prosecuted
152.Section 53 applies where a person is being kept in a place of safety (as defined in subsection (5)) in accordance with section 22(2) when it has been decided not to prosecute the person for any relevant offence (as defined in subsection (4)) but a constable has reasonable grounds for suspecting that the person has committed a relevant offence. The Principal Reporter must be informed as soon as reasonably practicable that the person is being kept in a place of safety until the Principal Reporter makes a direction under section 65(2) of the Children’s Hearings (Scotland) Act 2011.
