UK Offence Report

Offences relating to absconding

article 10(2) of The Children’s Hearings (Scotland) Act 2011 (Consequential and Transitional Provisions and Savings) Order 2013

This offence was read from the text as made, and no revised version was available, so a later revocation could not be ruled out. Check the current text at legislation.gov.uk.

What the provision says

2 A person commits an offence if the person—

a knowingly assists or induces the child to abscond from the place or person (mentioned in paragraph (1));

b knowingly harbours or conceals

a child who has absconded from that place or person; or

c knowingly prevents

a child from returning to that place or person.

Text as made, from legislation.gov.uk. © Crown copyright, reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.

Who it binds, and what has to be proved

Binds
a person
Conduct
breaching the provision
Fault element
Requires proof of a state of mind
Burden of proof
No statutory defence — prosecution proves everything

The prosecution must prove both that the conduct happened and that it was done with the state of mind the provision names (knowingly).

The provision states no defence, so the prosecution bears the burden on every element of the offence.

Classifier’s reasoning: mens rea word in the offence-creating words: knowingly.

What would breach article 10(2)?

These are illustrations, not law. They are generated from the provision’s own words to show the shape of the offence. Whether any particular conduct is caught depends on the full text, on any amendment since, and on the facts.

  1. Doing what the provision prohibits, or failing to do what it requires under the Children’s Hearings (Scotland) Act 2011 (Consequential and Transitional Provisions and Savings) Order 2013.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Summary only — tried in a magistrates’ court
Maximum fine
Unlimited
Standard scale
Level 5
Maximum prison (summary)
3 months

level 5 is unlimited in England and Wales for offences committed on or after 12 March 2015 (LASPO 2012 s.85, S.I. 2015/664).

Sentencing

Offences of this kind are usually sentenced under the guidelines below. This is a mapping by subject, not a finding about this provision, and the links go to a search of the Sentencing Council’s own site.

Prosecution figures

No published per-offence figure was found for this provision, and it could not be matched to a Ministry of Justice offence code. Offences created by statutory instrument very largely do not have one. Absence of a figure is not evidence that the offence is unused.

Status and lifecycle

Current status
Status not determined
Made
11 June 2013
In force from
Not determined
Extent
E+W+S

How this was established: read from the text as made; no revised version available, so later revocation could not be ruled out.

What the instrument is for

(This note is not part of the Order) — the explanatory note published with the instrument, © Crown copyright.

This Order makes provision consequential on the Children’s Hearings (Scotland) Act 2011 (“the 2011 Act”) which restates and amends the law relating to children’s hearings in Scotland. Articles 2 and 3 contain the extent and interpretation provisions. Article 4 contains transitional provisions and savings. The Children (Scotland) Act 1995 (“the 1995 Act”) contains provisions which extend to England, Wales and Northern Ireland and these provisions require to continue in effect in respect of cases which, on the coming into force of the 2011 Act, will, for a period, continue under the 1995 Act. Article 5 makes provision to enable a “relevant order” made under the 2011 Act to be enforced in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Article 6 makes similar provision in respect of enforcement of a warrant to secure attendance made under the 2011 Act. Under the 2011 Act, a child can be required, in a Compulsory Supervision Order or an Interim Compulsory Supervision Order, to reside at a specified place. Article 7 provides that that place may be in England or Wales. Provision is also made in respect of the restriction of the child’s liberty where the child is so placed. An order made under the 2011 Act may require a child to be kept in a particular place. If a child absconds from that place to a place in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, article 8 makes provision regarding the return of that child. Article 9 makes similar provision in respect of a child who absconds from a person who has or is authorised to have control of the child by virtue of an order made under the 2011 Act. Article 10 creates offences in relation to assisting or inducing a child to abscond, harbouring or concealing a child who has absconded and preventing an absconding child from returning. Article 11 provides that a person who intentionally obstructs a person acting under certain orders made under the 2011 Act commits an offence. Article 12 prohibits the publication of “protected information” if publication is intended or is likely to identify a child mentioned in the information or the child’s address or school. Such publication is a criminal offence. Article 13 makes provision in respect of a child subject to a compulsory supervision order who is taken to live in England or Wales. Article 14 makes similar provision in respect of a child who is taken to live in Northern Ireland. Article 15 makes provision in respect of children subject to orders made in England and Wales and Northern Ireland who transfer to live in Scotland. Article 16 makes provision in relation to the decision of the person in charge of secure accommodation in which a child is to be placed as to whether to consent to the child being placed in that accommodation. Articles 17-20 and the Schedules make provision for consequential amendments to primary and secondary legislation in consequence of the 2011 Act.

Read the full note and every offence in this instrument

What Parliament said

Mentions of this instrument in Hansard. Parliamentary material is reused under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0.

Other offences in the same instrument

How this was identified as an offence

Everything above rests on the judgement that this provision creates a criminal offence, rather than mentioning one. That judgement is made by rule, from the words of the provision, and this is the rule that made it — with a confidence of 0.92.

Basis
the provision says a person “commits an offence”
Confidence
0.92 of 1.00

A provision that states a penalty for an offence created elsewhere can read very like one that creates an offence, and the rules can mistake the one for the other. If the text quoted above sets a penalty for something made an offence by another provision, treat the classification on this page with that in mind, and read the instrument.

Check the source