Youth Justice Act 1992

This section applies if—

a court remands a child in custody; and

the child does not remain the prisoner of the court; and

the child is not already in the custody of the chief executive.

The commissioner of the police service must—

take immediate custody of the child; and

deliver the child into the custody of the chief executive as soon as reasonably practicable after the date the chief executive notifies to the commissioner under subsection (3).

The chief executive must—

notify the commissioner of the police service of the date from which delivery of the child into the chief executive’s custody will be accepted; and

fulfil the duty under paragraph (a) as soon as reasonably practicable in all the circumstances, including, for example, the number of children held by the commissioner and the capacity of detention centres.

In deciding the date, the chief executive must have regard to the information available to the chief executive about the following matters—

the child’s needs, having regard to—

the child’s age and sex; and

the child’s cultural background; and

the child’s historic and current self-harm risk and suicide risk; and

the child’s medical conditions, if any; and

the child’s physical health and mental health issues, if any; and

the child’s substance misuse and withdrawal issues, if any; and

the child’s cognitive capacity; and

the location and date of the child’s next court appearance; and

any other issue the chief executive considers may affect the child’s health or wellbeing in a watch-house environment; and

any other issue the chief executive considers may affect the child’s health or wellbeing while the child is being transported between a watch-house and a detention centre;

if 1 or more other children are being held by the commissioner of the police service—the relative needs of the child and the other children having regard to the matters mentioned in paragraph (a);

the effect the delivery of the child is likely to have on—

the chief executive’s ability to comply with section 263; and

the chief executive’s ability to fulfil the chief executive’s duties as an employer; and

the commissioner of the police service’s ability to fulfil the commissioner’s duties as an employer; and

the commissioner of the police service’s ability to fulfil the commissioner’s responsibility for—

the security and management of watch-houses; and

the safety and wellbeing of people detained in watch-houses.

A failure of the chief executive to provide procedural fairness to the child in deciding the date under subsection (4) does not affect the validity of the decision.

However, in deciding the date, the chief executive must not have regard to the effect of section 276A.

Subsection (2) does not apply to a person who is an adult being dealt with for an offence committed by the person as a child if, under section 135, the person must be held in a corrective services facility.

Subsection (8) applies to jurisdiction conferred by an Act on a court—

to commit a person to a place of detention (other than a detention centre) pending appearance before a court; and

to give directions to the person in charge of the place.

The jurisdiction is taken, if the person is a child and this section applies, instead to confer jurisdiction on the court to remand the child into the custody of the chief executive and to give directions to the chief executive.

If a court remands a child into the custody of the chief executive under subsection (8), subsection (2) applies to the child.

Subject to subsection (11), the chief executive may keep a child mentioned in subsection (1) who is in the chief executive’s custody in places that the chief executive determines from time to time.

The chief executive can not determine under subsection (10) that a child is to be kept in a prison.

For the purposes of the Human Rights Act 2019, section 43(1), it is declared that this section has effect—

despite being incompatible with human rights; and

despite anything else in the Human Rights Act 2019.

This subsection and subsections (12) and (14) expire on 31 December 2026.

A regulation may postpone the expiry of this subsection and subsections (12) and (13) but can not postpone the expiry for more than 1 year after 31 December 2026.