(a) General rule.--A person taking a child into custody, with all reasonable speed and without first taking the child elsewhere, shall:
(1) notify the parent, guardian or other custodian of the apprehension of the child and his whereabouts;
(2) release the child to his parents, guardian, or other custodian upon their promise to bring the child before the court when requested by the court, unless his detention or shelter care is warranted or required under section 6325 (relating to detention of child); or
(3) bring the child before the court or deliver him to a detention or shelter care facility designated by the court or to a medical facility if the child is believed to suffer from a serious physical condition or illness which requires prompt treatment. He shall promptly give written notice, together with a statement of the reason for taking the child into custody, to a parent, guardian, or other custodian and to the court.
Any temporary detention or questioning of the child necessary to comply with this subsection shall conform to the procedures and conditions prescribed by this chapter and other provisions of law.
(b) Detention in police lockup generally prohibited.--Unless a child taken into custody is alleged to have committed a crime or summary offense or to be in violation of conditions of probation or other supervision following an adjudication of delinquency, the child may not be detained in a municipal police lockup or cell or otherwise held securely within a law enforcement facility or structure which houses an adult lockup. A child shall be deemed to be held securely only when physically detained or confined in a locked room or cell or when secured to a cuffing rail or other stationary object within the facility.
(c) Detention in police lockup under certain circumstances.--A child alleged to have committed a crime or summary offense or to be in violation of conditions of probation or other supervision following an adjudication of delinquency may be held securely in a municipal police lockup or other facility which houses an adult lockup only under the following conditions:
(1) the secure holding shall only be for the purpose of identification, investigation, processing, releasing or transferring the child to a parent, guardian, other custodian, or juvenile court or county children and youth official, or to a shelter care or juvenile detention center;
(2) the secure holding shall be limited to the minimum time necessary to complete the procedures listed in paragraph (1), but in no case may such holding exceed six hours; and
(3) if so held, a child must be separated by sight and sound from incarcerated adult offenders and must be under the continuous visual supervision of law enforcement officials or facility staff.
(d) Conditions of detention.--Notwithstanding other provisions of law, a child held in nonsecure custody in a building or facility which houses an adult lockup may be so held only under the following conditions:
(1) the area where the child is held is an unlocked multipurpose area which is not designated or used as a secure detention area or is not part of a secure detention area; or, if the area is a secure booking or similar area, it is used only for processing purposes;
(2) the child is not physically secured to a cuffing rail or other stationary object during the period of custody in the facility;
(3) the area is limited to providing nonsecure custody only long enough for the purposes of identification, investigation, processing or release to parents or for arranging transfer to another agency or appropriate facility; and
(4) the child must be under continuous visual supervision by a law enforcement officer or other facility staff during the period of nonsecure custody.
(e) Reports regarding children held in custody.--Law enforcement agencies shall provide information and reports regarding children held in secure and nonsecure custody under subsections (c) and (d) as requested by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency.
(f) Enforcement of undertaking to produce child.--If a parent, guardian, or other custodian, when requested, fails to bring the child before the court as provided in subsection (a), the court may issue its warrant directing that the child be taken into custody and brought before the court.
(June 14, 1991, P.L.68, No.9, eff. 60 days; Dec. 15, 1998, P.L.949, No.126, eff. Jan. 1, 1999)
1998 Amendment. Act 126 amended subsec. (c)(1).
Structure Pennsylvania Consolidated & Unconsolidated Statutes
Pennsylvania Consolidated & Unconsolidated Statutes
Title 42 - JUDICIARY AND JUDICIAL PROCEDURE
Section 6301 - Short title and purposes of chapter
Section 6303 - Scope of chapter
Section 6304 - Powers and duties of probation officers
Section 6304.1 - Summary offenses
Section 6306 - Costs and expenses of care of child
Section 6307 - Inspection of court files and records
Section 6308 - Law enforcement records
Section 6309 - Juvenile history record information
Section 6310 - Parental participation
Section 6311 - Guardian ad litem for child in court proceedings
Section 6321 - Commencement of proceedings
Section 6322 - Transfer from criminal proceedings
Section 6323 - Informal adjustment
Section 6324 - Taking into custody
Section 6325 - Detention of child
Section 6326 - Release or delivery to court
Section 6327 - Place of detention
Section 6328 - Dependency in lieu of delinquency
Section 6331 - Release from detention or commencement of proceedings
Section 6332 - Informal hearing
Section 6335 - Release or holding of hearing
Section 6336 - Conduct of hearings
Section 6336.1 - Notice and hearing
Section 6336.2 - Use of restraints on children during court proceedings
Section 6337 - Right to counsel
Section 6337.1 - Right to counsel for children in dependency and delinquency proceedings
Section 6338 - Other basic rights
Section 6339 - Investigation and report
Section 6342 - Court-appointed special advocates
Section 6351 - Disposition of dependent child
Section 6351.1 - Authority of court upon petition to remove child from foster parent
Section 6352 - Disposition of delinquent child
Section 6352.1 - Treatment records
Section 6352.2 - Interagency information sharing
Section 6353 - Limitation on and change in place of commitment
Section 6354 - Effect of adjudication
Section 6355 - Transfer to criminal proceedings
Section 6356 - Disposition of mentally ill or mentally retarded child
Section 6357 - Rights and duties of legal custodian
Section 6358 - Assessment of delinquent children by the State Sexual Offenders Assessment Board
Section 6361 - Disposition of nonresident child
Section 6362 - Disposition of resident child received from another state
Section 6363 - Ordering foreign supervision
Section 6364 - Supervision under foreign order
Section 6365 - Powers of foreign probation officers
Section 6372 - Juvenile Court Judges' Commission
Section 6373 - Powers and duties