Part V

Absence without leave

Abscondment from a place of safety, or from the control of a person imposed by a supervision requirement.
69
1
If a child—
a
absconds from a place of safety in which he has been detained by virtue of this Act, or
b
absconds from the control of a person under which he has been placed by a supervision requirement or by virtue of rules made by the Secretary of State under section 45 of this Act,
he may be arrested without a warrant in any part of the United Kingdom or the Channel Islands ; and a court, if satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for believing that the child is within any premises, may grant a search warrant authorising a constable to search those premises for the child.
2
A child arrested in pursuance of this section shall be brought back—
a
in a case falling within paragraph (a) of subsection (1), to the place of safety,
b
in a case falling within paragraph (b) of that subsection, to the person under whose control he has been placed.
3
If, in the case of a child required to be brought back in pursuance of the last foregoing subsection—
a
the occupier of the place of safety, or
b
the person under whose control he has been placed,
is unwilling or unable to receive him, the child shall be detained in a place of safety until the Principal Reporter has considered, in pursuance of section 37 of this Act, whether the child may be in need of compulsory measures of care, or as the case may be, until he can be brought before a children’s hearing for the consideration of his case or for a review of the supervision requirement to which he is subject.
4
A children’s hearing arranged for the purposes of the last foregoing subsection shall meet within a period of seven days from the date of the commencement of the detention of the child, and no child shall be detained under that subsection after the hearing have met or beyond that period.
5
In this and the next following section any reference—
a
to a child absconding includes a reference to his being unlawfully taken away;
b
to a child absconding from a place or from the control of a person includes a reference to his absconding while being taken to, or awaiting being taken to, that place or that person as the case may be.
Pt. V (ss. 69-77) repealed (1.4.1997) by 1995 c. 36, s. 105(5), Sch. 5 (with s. 103(1)); S.I. 1996/3201, art. 3(7) (which said art. 3(7) was substituted (7.3.1997) by S.I. 1997/744, art. 2 (with transitional provisions inserted into S.I. 1996/3201 by art. 3))
Words added by Children Act 1975 (c. 72, SIF 49:9, 10), Sch. 3 para. 58(a)
Words in s. 69(3) substituted (1.4.1996) by 1994 c. 39, s. 180(1), Sch. 13 para. 76(26)(27); S.I. 1996/323, art. 4(1)(b)(c)
S. 69(5) substituted by Children Act 1975 (c. 72, SIF 49:9, 10), Sch. 3 para. 58(b)