{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/mental-capacity-act-northern-ireland-2016/section-270",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/mental-capacity-act-northern-ireland-2016/section-270.json",
  "legislation": "nia/2016/18",
  "legislation_title": "Mental Capacity Act (Northern Ireland) 2016",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/mental-capacity-act-northern-ireland-2016",
  "path": "section/270",
  "kind": "section",
  "number": "270",
  "heading": "Assisting persons to absent themselves without permission",
  "text": "(1) A person commits an offence if—\n(a) the person knows that another person (“P”) is, by virtue of this Act, liable to be detained in a place in circumstances amounting to a deprivation of liberty; and\n(b) the person induces, or intentionally assists, P to absent himself or herself without permission from that place.\n(2) A person commits an offence if—\n(a) the person knows that another person (“P”) is, by virtue of this Act, liable to be detained in a place (“the relevant place”) in circumstances amounting to a deprivation of liberty;\n(b) P has absented himself or herself without permission from the relevant place; and\n(c) the person—\n(i) allows P to live or stay with the person, knowing that P absented himself or herself without permission from the relevant place; or\n(ii) gives P any assistance with the intention of preventing, delaying or interfering with P's being returned to detention.\n(3) A person commits an offence if—\n(a) the person knows that another person (“P”) is, by virtue of this Act, liable to be detained in a place in circumstances amounting to a deprivation of liberty;\n(b) P is being taken to that place; and\n(c) the person induces, or intentionally assists, P to escape.\n(4) In subsections (1) and (2) references to P absenting himself or herself without permission from a place where P is liable to be detained (“the relevant place”) include—\n(a) P failing to return to the relevant place at the end of an occasion or period for which P was given permission to be absent, or on being recalled from a permitted absence; and\n(b) P absenting himself or herself, without permission, from a place where P is required to be by conditions imposed on the grant of a permission for absence from the relevant place.\n(5) A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable—\n(a) on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum or both;\n(b) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or a fine or both.",
  "extent": null,
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "I",
      "label": "I1",
      "text": "S. 270 in operation at 2.12.2019 for specified purposes by S.R. 2019/163, art. 2(4), Sch. Pt. 4 (with art. 3) (as amended by S.R. 2019/190, art. 2)"
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/nia/2016/18/section/270",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T20:19:54.781348+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."
}