{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/criminal-justice-scotland-act-2016/section-51",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/criminal-justice-scotland-act-2016/section-51.json",
  "legislation": "asp/2016/1",
  "legislation_title": "Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2016",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/criminal-justice-scotland-act-2016",
  "path": "section/51",
  "kind": "section",
  "number": "51",
  "heading": "Duty to consider child's wellbeing",
  "text": "(1) Subsection (2) applies when a constable is deciding whether to—\n(a) arrest a child,\n(b) hold a child in police custody,\n(c) interview a child about an offence which the constable has reasonable grounds to suspect the child of committing, or\n(d) charge a child with committing an offence.\n(2) In taking the decision, the constable must treat the need to safeguard and promote the wellbeing of the child as a primary consideration.\n(3) For the purposes of this section, a child is a person who is under 18 years of age.",
  "extent": "S",
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "C",
      "label": "C1",
      "text": "S. 51 applied (with modifications) by 1994 c. 33, s. 137D(3)(c), Sch. 7B Pt. 2 (as inserted (31.1.2017 for specified purposes, 1.3.2018 in so far as not already in force) by Policing and Crime Act 2017 (c. 3), s. 116(1)(3), 183(1)(5)(e), Sch. 16; S.I. 2018/227, art. 2(f))"
    },
    {
      "type": "I",
      "label": "I1",
      "text": "S. 51 in force at 25.1.2018 by S.S.I. 2017/345, art. 3, sch."
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2016/1/section/51",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T20:13:41.878642+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}