Virginia statute
Va. Code Ann. § 16.1-246 — When and how child may be taken into immediate custody
Current through 2026 Regular Session
Part of Article 4: Immediate Custody, Arrest, Detention and Shelter Care, Code of Virginia.
Full text of Va. Code Ann. § 16.1-246
Statutory text current through the 2026 Regular Session. This publication reproduces the text of the Code of Virginia from the official Virginia Law Portal API published by the Virginia General Assembly's Division of Legislative Automated Systems; it is not the official Code of Virginia.
No child may be taken into immediate custody except:
A. With a detention order issued by the judge, the intake officer or the clerk, when authorized by the judge, of the juvenile and domestic relations district court in accordance with the provisions of this law or with a warrant issued by a magistrate; or
B. When a child is alleged to be in need of services or supervision and (i) there is a clear and substantial danger to the child's life or health, the safety of the child's family, or the safety of the public or (ii) the assumption of custody is necessary to ensure the child's appearance before the court; or
C. When, in the presence of the officer who makes the arrest, a child has committed an act designated a crime under the law of this Commonwealth, or an ordinance of any city, county, town or service district, or under federal law and the officer believes that such is necessary for the protection of the public interest; or
C1. When a child has committed a misdemeanor offense involving (i) shoplifting in violation of § 18.2-103 , (ii) assault and battery or (iii) carrying a weapon on school property in violation of § 18.2-308.1 and, although the offense was not committed in the presence of the officer who makes the arrest, the arrest is based on probable cause on reasonable complaint of a person who observed the alleged offense; or
D. When there is probable cause to believe that a child has committed an offense which if committed by an adult would be a felony; or
E. When a law-enforcement officer has probable cause to believe that a person committed to the Department of Juvenile Justice as a child has run away or that a child has escaped from a jail or detention home; or
F. When a law-enforcement officer has probable cause to believe a child has run away from a residential, child-caring facility or home in which he had been placed by the court, the local department of social services or a licensed child welfare agency; or
G. When a law-enforcement officer has probable cause to believe that a child (i) has run away from home or (ii) is without adult supervision at such hours of the night and under such circumstances that the law-enforcement officer reasonably concludes that there is a clear and substantial danger to the child's welfare; or
H. When a child is believed to be in need of inpatient treatment for mental illness as provided in § 16.1-340 .
Official sources
Legal terms used in this section
This reference is informational and is not legal advice.