ACTIn ForceAct
Crimes Act 1900
252GInterviewing children and young people about offences
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252G Interviewing children and young people about offences
(1) This section applies if a police officer—
(a) suspects on reasonable grounds that a child or young person may
have committed, or be implicated in the commission of, an
(b) is holding a child or young person under restraint.
(2) A police officer must not interview the child or young person about
an offence, or cause the child or young person to do anything in
relation to the investigation of an offence, unless—
(a) one of the following people (who is an adult and who the police
officer does not believe on reasonable grounds to be an
accomplice of the child or young person in relation to the
offence) is present:
(i) a parent of the child or young person;
(ii) someone else who has daily care responsibility, or
long-term care responsibility, for the child or young
person;
(iii) a family member of the child or young person who is
acceptable to the child or young person;
(iv) a lawyer acting for the child or young person;
(v) another suitable person who is acceptable to the child or
young person; or
(b) if the police officer has taken reasonable steps to have a person
mentioned in paragraph (a) present but it was not practicable for
such a person to be present within 2 hours after being asked to
be present—someone else who is not a police officer and has not
been involved with the investigation of the offence.
Example—suitable person—par (a) (v)
a person trained by the public advocate to attend interviews of children and young
people
accomplice, in relation to an offence, includes a person who a police
officer believes on reasonable grounds to be likely to secrete, lose,
destroy or fabricate evidence relating to the offence.
family member—see the Family Violence Act 2016, section 9.