Person to be brought before court
20Information to be given if sexual offence
(1)Subsection (2) applies when—
(a)a person is in police custody having been arrested under a warrant in respect of a sexual offence to which section 288C of the 1995 Act applies, or
(b)a person—
(i)is in police custody having been arrested without a warrant, and
(ii)since being arrested, the person has been charged by a constable with a sexual offence to which section 288C of the 1995 Act applies.
(2)The person must be informed as soon as reasonably practicable—
(a)that the person’s case at, or for the purposes of, any relevant hearing (within the meaning of section 288C(1A) of the 1995 Act) in the course of the proceedings may be conducted only by a lawyer,
(b)that it is, therefore, in the person’s interests to get the professional assistance of a solicitor, and
(c)that if the person does not engage a solicitor for the purposes of the conduct of the person’s case at or for the purposes of the hearing, the court will do so.
21Person to be brought before court
(1)Subsection (2) applies to a person when—
(a)the person is in police custody having been arrested under a warrant (other than a warrant granted under section 37(1)), or
(b)the person—
(i)is in police custody having been arrested without a warrant, and
(ii)since being arrested, the person has been charged with an offence by a constable.
(2)The person must be brought before a court (unless released from custody under section 25)—
(a)if practicable, before the end of the first day on which the court is sitting after the day on which this subsection began to apply to the person, or
(b)as soon as practicable after that.
(3)A person is deemed to be brought before a court in accordance with subsection (2) if the person appears before it by means of a live television link (by virtue of a determination by the court that the person is to do so by such means).
22Under 18s to be kept in place of safety prior to court
(1)Subsection (2) applies when—
(a)a person is to be brought before a court in accordance with section 21(2), and
(b)either—
(i)a constable believes the person is under 16 years of age, or
(ii)the person is subject to a compulsory supervision order, or an interim compulsory supervision order, made under the Children’s Hearings (Scotland) Act 2011.
(2)The person must (unless released from custody under section 25) be kept in a place of safety until the person can be brought before the court.
(3)The place of safety in which the person is kept must not be a police station unless an appropriate constable certifies that keeping the person in a place of safety other than a police station would be—
(a)impracticable,
(b)unsafe, or
(c)inadvisable due to the person’s state of health (physical or mental).
(4)A certificate under subsection (3) must be produced to the court when the person is brought before it.
(5)In this section—
“an appropriate constable” means a constable of the rank of inspector or above,
“place of safety” has the meaning given in section 202(1) of the Children’s Hearings (Scotland) Act 2011.
23Notice to parent that under 18 to be brought before court
(1)Subsection (2) applies when a person who is 16 years of age or over and subject to a supervision order or under 16 years of age—
(a)is to be brought before a court in accordance with section 21(2), or
(b)is released from police custody on an undertaking given under section 25(2)(a).
(2)A parent of the person mentioned in subsection (1) (if one can be found) must be informed of the following matters—
(a)the court before which the person is to be brought,
(b)the date on which the person is to be brought before the court,
(c)the general nature of the offence which the person has been officially accused of committing, and
(d)that the parent’s attendance at the court may be required under section 42 of the 1995 Act.
(3)Subsection (2) does not require any information to be given to a parent if a constable has grounds to believe that giving the parent the information mentioned in that subsection may be detrimental to the wellbeing of the person mentioned in subsection (1).
(4)In this section—
“parent” includes guardian and any person who has the care of the person mentioned in subsection (1),
“supervision order” means compulsory supervision order, or interim compulsory supervision order, made under the Children’s Hearings (Scotland) Act 2011.
24Notice to local authority that under 18 to be brought before court
(1)The appropriate local authority must be informed of the matters mentioned in subsection (4) when—
(a)a person to whom either subsection (2) or (3) applies is to be brought before a court in accordance with section 21(2), or
(b)a person to whom subsection (2) applies is released from police custody on an undertaking given under section 25(2)(a).
(2)This subsection applies to—
(a)a person who is under 16 years of age,
(b)a person who is—
(i)16 or 17 years of age, and
(ii)subject to a compulsory supervision order, or an interim compulsory supervision order, made under the Children’s Hearings (Scotland) Act 2011.
(3)This subsection applies to a person if—
(a)a constable believes the person is 16 or 17 years of age,
(b)since being arrested, the person has not exercised the right to have intimation sent under section 38, and
(c)on being informed or reminded of the right to have intimation sent under that section after being officially accused, the person has declined to exercise the right.
(4)The matters referred to in subsection (1) are—
(a)the court before which the person mentioned in paragraph (a) or (as the case may be) (b) of that subsection is to be brought,
(b)the date on which the person is to be brought before the court, and
(c)the general nature of the offence which the person has been officially accused of committing.
(5)For the purpose of subsection (1), the appropriate local authority is the local authority in whose area the court referred to in subsection (4)(a) sits.