Your World of Legal Intelligence
 United Kingdom | +44 (0) 20 7284 8080

Police Powers under the Children Act 1989

Document Cited authorities 2 Cited in Related
Vincent
AuthorSafda Mahmood/Julie Doughty
Pages139-140
10 Police Powers under the Children Act 1989

The police have special powers under section 46 of the CA 1989 referred to as ‘police protection’, which do not need a court order. The ground for action is that police have reasonable cause to believe the child would otherwise suffer significant harm (section 46(1)).

The Department of Health guidance, Court orders and Pre-Proceedings for Local Authorities (April 2014), Chapter 4, paragraph 30 provides that the police powers should only be used in exceptional circumstances, where there is insufficient time to apply for an emergency protection order, or for reasons relating to the immediate safety of the child.

Also, paragraph 37 of this guidance provides that neither the officer, the designated officer, nor the local authority acquire parental responsibility for a child who is in police protection following the exercise of powers under section 46 of the CA 1989. The designated officer must nevertheless do what is reasonable in all the circumstances to promote the child’s welfare, bearing in mind that the child cannot be kept in police protection for more than 72 hours (section 46(6) and (9) of the CA 1989).

10.1 Police powers and responsibilities

The special powers of the police are:

• to remove a child to a safe place and keep him there (section 46(1)(a) of the CA 1989);

• to prevent a child’s removal from a safe place (section 46(1)(b));

• no power to enter premises without a warrant unless section 17 of PACE is satisfied (section 17 includes, amongst other situations, saving life and limb, prevention of serious damage to property, or arrests);

• to safeguard and promote the child’s welfare (section 46(9)(b)).

Each area must have a ‘designated police officer’ responsible for carrying out the duties imposed by the CA 1989, who can apply for emergency protection if necessary...

To continue reading

Request your trial
Navigation index

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT