Criminal record for running away from home in the UK at 17?

Will a friend of mine get a criminal record for running away from home in the UK at 17?

Friend plans on running away (Abusive relationships in the household between family members, failed AS-Level grades, years of neglect etc - but doesn't want to call the police because he still loves his mum)

Please don't post things like Child-line, good samaritan, etc (He's gone through years with them)

He's pretty set on running away, but he just needs to know from you lot:

Can you get a criminal record for running away from home at the age of 17?
How much effort do the police put? (Will they trace your mobile number, hack into your computer and get all the information, will there be some sort of squad sent regularly or anything?)

How likely is it that he will get caught? (Knowing that approx - 100,000 (One missing every 5 minutes - I told him not really) - he lives in London.

Also, when he reaches 18 - will the police still try to find him? Or will he officially become an Adult (even though I think you are one when you hit 16) ?

I thought you needed your parent's consent if you run away in the UK at aged 17 or younger? I thought you're an adult at 18, and not at 17?

(edited 11 years ago)

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Reply 1

NutterFrutter

Original post by Paper123

Reply 2

DarkWhite

No; it's not against the law, but I would suggest your friend works out his next steps and gets some advice before leaving.

Shelter have lots of information for those considering running away - http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/finding_a_place_to_live/young_people_leaving_home_and_finding_a_place/running_away

Hope he sorts everything out :smile:

Reply 3

Theroomofstudents

Well I'm not very educated in this area but what exactly do you mean buy running away? I mean he's not literally going to go living on the streets now is he? ... my other point is that if living in the household that bad, can't he contact to police himself or even request (or just go) to live somewhere else like a youth hostel etc. (I don't exactly know all the options). And in general I'm pretty sure the police can't force him to stay there, when is he 18 btw?

Reply 4

Paper123

Original post by Theroomofstudents

He'll be 18 in Mid-May and - he has quite a lot of close friends - he's already run away, but he's being threatened by his family at the moment to come home or they'll call the police.

His passport was taken by his parents, so he can only remain in the UK, he's staying with a friend - but he only plans to be there temporarily.

Reply 5

Craming Revision

im living at a mates house atm. after flopping my a.s grades got kicked from house.

Reply 6

catoswyn

Sorry to hear about your friend's situation. It sounds grim. :frown:

It is not a criminal offence to run away.

The police will try to trace him by any means necessary if it were reported to them he was missing under suspicious circumstances ie they thought he'd been murdered or so forth. Its therefore a good idea to leave some indication that he has left home voluntarily rather than just disappeared especially if the family are known to social services in any way. This could be a note or something he leaves with friends. If he has left home voluntarily unless he is considered to be vunerable in some way, ie has mental health difficulties or the like, then the police are unlikely to be that pro-active.

The main thing is that your friend needs to make a sensible plan. There is no point jumping from one bad situation straight into another! As Dark White says above there are places that can help in confidence and advice available.

:smile:

Reply 7

Theroomofstudents

Original post by Paper123

Well my advice would just be as someone mentioned earlier is to prepare his next steps, and just discuss this with someone with more knowledge on the situation about how he can live out of the household and not have to worry about the police or his family...

Reply 8

Andicate

Of course not. Running away is not against the law, especially if one is 17. It is perfectly legal for you to move out once you're over 16 years of age, however your parents can only evict you when you're 18 or over.

And my deepest condolences for your friend :frown:

I understand his situation :hugs:

Reply 9

catoswyn

Original post by Paper123

The police will not be interested. He is perfectly within his rights to leave home if he wishes. These are empty threats by his family and he can just ignore them. If you think he is not safe in any way then again he should get advice in confidence. There are shelters available. If he wishes to get a new passport he should report that his current passport has been stolen, which it seems it has to be honest, and obtain a new one (quite expensive though!) I'm glad he is with a friend and has somewhere to stay. That is really good news.

:smile:

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 10

catoswyn

Original post by Craming Revision

im living at a mates house atm. after flopping my a.s grades got kicked from house.

Sorry to hear this... seems a bit extreme to be honest... do you think you'll get back home when they've calmed down a bit or is that it?

Reply 11

Paper123

But I thought you needed your parent's consent or something like that when you're 17?

Reply 12

mabrookes

Original post by Paper123

Not against the law, but the police can get annoyed if you waste their time making them look for you - the best way is to contact the police and say you are ok (they will want to talk in person to make sure you haven't been kidnapped or something) otherwise they will look for you just to know you are ok. Once they know you are ok that is the only thing they are interested in and although they will relay that fact to the parents that is the end of it.

Reply 13

Podcaster

lol what? Of course it's not illegal unless you're under house arrest and your parents double up as prison guards. The guy is 17. to use the words "running away from home" makes it sound a bit "12 year old" if you know what I mean. He is perfectly within his rights to leave and at his age it is simply called "moving out"

Reply 14

Paper123

Can anyone else please confirm if he may get arrested? Or not? I thought you needed parent's written consent to leave the house at 17? (Runaway)?

Reply 15

Swinginking

It's a civil matter, no criminal activity involved :smile:

He won't get arrested, if found by police probably will just get told to go home or put in foster but he's like 17 so he can just tell the cops to leave him alone haha

This was posted from The Student Room's iPhone/iPad App

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 16

bkeevin

Original post by Paper123

Can anyone else please confirm if he may get arrested? Or not? I thought you needed parent's written consent to leave the house at 17? (Runaway)?

As most people have told you, you can leave home as soon as you are 16. No it is not an offence. Remember you can live and work independently at 16! The council is duty bound to provide accommodation for your friend if he is under 18 especially if there is family abuse involved. No written consent will be needed. It is just advisable to inform the police or the likes of childline so that they don't waste resources researching him.

Reply 17

Craming Revision

Original post by catoswyn

Sorry to hear this... seems a bit extreme to be honest... do you think you'll get back home when they've calmed down a bit or is that it?

i got CCCD in a,.s results, they kicked me out and said come back when you get a's and b's

Reply 18

Juichiro

Original post by NutterFrutter

Your profile picture...lol what is the dog doing to the kid? :biggrin:

Reply 19

cl_steele

as others have said its not against the law, unadvisable sure but not illegal. according to british law you can leave at 16 i believe as thats when your parents legal obligations to you end.