{"id":3511,"date":"2023-07-06T00:01:12","date_gmt":"2023-07-06T00:01:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/safeguardinghub.co.uk\/?p=3511"},"modified":"2023-07-28T18:01:40","modified_gmt":"2023-07-28T18:01:40","slug":"non-parental-child-abduction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/safeguardinghub.co.uk\/non-parental-child-abduction\/","title":{"rendered":"Non-parental Child Abduction"},"content":{"rendered":"
Welcome to the first of three articles looking at various aspects of Child Abduction. This area of safeguarding is based principally around the legislation contained within the Child Abduction Act 1984 and the Children Act 1989. For us these acts translate into to four key categories:<\/p>\n
In this article we concentrate on the first two areas \u2013 Section 2 & Section 49, which are relevant to those who are charged with safeguarding children on a daily basis, particularly professionals who are involved with missing and\/or exploited children. These two offences are commonly associated with non-parental child abduction, rather than the offence of parental child abduction covered under Section 1 of the Child Abduction Act. In other words, those people who for their own reasons, takes or harbours a child who they have limited or no association with.<\/p>\n
What is Section 2 Child Abduction?<\/strong><\/p>\n Section 2 deals with people who take or detain a child who are not connected<\/strong> to that child.<\/p>\n A person commits an offence if, without lawful authority or reasonable excuse, he takes or detains a child under the age of sixteen:<\/p>\n Is this not Kidnapping? <\/strong><\/p>\n No! The Common Law offence of Kidnapping may at first seem similar but is in fact very different. Kidnapping is the \u2018taking or carrying away of one person by another, by force<\/strong> or fraud<\/strong>, without<\/strong> the consent<\/strong> of the person so taken or carried away\u2019. Kidnap always involves the false imprisonment of the person taken or carried away. False imprisonment is \u2018the unlawful and total restraint of the personal liberty of another\u2019. Both Kidnap and False imprisonment are indictable only offences so can only be tried in the Crown Court. Both carry a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.<\/p>\n What is the idea behind Section 2 and who is it for? <\/strong><\/p>\n Some individuals permit young people to stay at their homes without making any attempt to inform the young person\u2019s parent or carer. Some go as far as encouraging the young person to go missing or stay away from the parent\/carer, whilst others actively obstruct attempts by police or social care to locate the child. This is often described as – harbouring a child. Many of these people do not mean the young people any harm and commit the offence without realising they are doing so, purely because they are irresponsible and have a dislike and distrust of authority. Most are not particularly good role models and often the young people are exposed to alcohol and drugs. Then there are the predators, those that target, groom and harbour children with the intent to commit criminal offences. Grooming will often involve the offender inducing, assisting and inciting the child to run away or stay away from their parent or carer.<\/p>\n Who is connected to the child and who is not? <\/strong><\/p>\n A person is connected<\/strong> to a child if they are:<\/p>\n So, anyone who does not fall into the category is not connected it the child and therefore may commit the offence.<\/p>\n What are the penalties for those who commit this offence?<\/strong><\/p>\n Section 2 is an \u2018either way\u2019 offence (summary and indictable), meaning it can be tried in both the Magistrate and Crown Court. If heard in a Magistrates Court, a person found guilty of this offence is liable to a maximum sentence of 6 months imprisonment and\/or a fine not exceeding \u00a35000. If found guilty in a Crown Court the maximum sentence is a term of imprisonment not exceeding seven years.<\/p>\n What if an adult generally believes that taking a child in is the right thing to do? <\/strong><\/p>\n There are many occasions when an adult will in all good faith, take a child into their address. An example of this is where a missing child goes to their friend\u2019s house and the parent of the friend allows the missing child to stay the night. In these circumstances, it is often better for the child to be at an address where they are safe, rather than walking the streets. Much of the law is about intent and if the harbourer doesn\u2019t have any malicious intent then generally it would preferable to speak to the adult, explaining the law and seeking their cooperation. In this particular scenario if the adult continuously took in the child and made no attempt to notify the carer or the authorities then they would be harbouring.<\/p>\n What is <\/strong>Section 49 Children’s Act 1989?<\/strong><\/p>\n Section 49 deals with young people who are subject to either a Care Order, an Emergency Protection Order (EPO) or who are in Police Protection.<\/p>\n A person commits an offence if, knowingly and without lawful authority or reasonable excuse, he\/she:<\/p>\n Unlike Section 2, this applies to a young person who is 16 years or over. To charge someone with this offence, the police need to prove that the offender knew:<\/p>\n Who is a responsible person? <\/strong><\/p>\n A \u2018responsible person\u2019 is any person who for the time being has care of the child by virtue of a care order, an emergency protection order, or the police (section 46 -police protection).<\/p>\n What is an Emergency Protection Order? <\/strong><\/p>\n Emergency Protection Orders (EPO) are covered under Section 44 Children Act 1989.<\/strong> Where a child is in immediate danger, an EPO is a short-term order to ensure the child\u2019s safety. It lasts a maximum of 8 days but can be extended for a further 7 days on application. The order grants the applicant parental responsibility, but only allows them to take such action which is reasonably required to safeguard the welfare of the child. This can include accommodating the child and preventing them from returning to their parent\u2019s care or allowing the child to remain where they are, if it is safe.<\/p>\n\n
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Taking, keeping or encouraging a child to run away from lawful care or Emergency or Police protection – Section 49 Children’s Act 1989.<\/h3>\n
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