Criminal Procedure Act 2011

General provisions - Conduct of proceeding - Special provisions applying to defendants under the age of 20 pending hearing or sentence

171: Defendants under 16 must not be imprisoned pending hearing or sentence

You could also call this:

"Kids under 16 can't be sent to prison while waiting for a court hearing or sentence."

Illustration for Criminal Procedure Act 2011

If you are under 16 years old and you are waiting for a court hearing or a sentence, you cannot be sent to a prison. You will not be sent to a prison even if you are waiting for a court decision about a charge against you. A prison does not include a police jail.

If you are under 16 and you are charged with or found guilty of an offence in the District Court or the High Court, and the court decides to remand you for a hearing or sentence, section 15 of the Bail Act 2000 applies to you. This means that the rules in that section will be used when deciding what to do with you while you wait. You will be treated according to those rules.

However, if you are already serving a sentence or term of imprisonment, this rule does not apply to you. You will be treated like anyone else who is already in prison. The rule is only for people under 16 who are waiting for a court hearing or sentence and are not already in prison.

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This page was last updated on 29 June 2025

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM3360298.

Topics:

Crime and justice > Criminal lawCrime and justice > Courts and legal help

170: Defendant in custody may be brought up before expiry of period of adjournment, or

"You can be taken to court early if you're in custody for a charge."

172: Defendants aged 16 must not be imprisoned pending hearing or sentence except in certain circumstances, or

"16-year-olds usually can't go to prison before their court case, except in some serious situations."

Part 5General provisions
Conduct of proceeding: Special provisions applying to defendants under the age of 20 pending hearing or sentence

171Defendants under 16 must not be imprisoned pending hearing or sentence

Despite any other enactment, no person under the age of 16 years may be remanded to a prison pending any hearing in relation to any charge, or pending sentence.
In this section a reference to a prison does not include a police jail.
If a person under the age of 16 years is charged with or convicted of an offence in the District Court or the High Court, and the court remands the person for hearing or sentence, section 15 of the Bail Act 2000 applies.
Nothing in subsection (1) applies in respect of any person who is subject to a sentence or term of imprisonment.

Compare

1985 No 120 s 142(1), (2A), (6)

Notes

Section 171(3): amended, on 1 March 2017, by section 261 of the District Court Act 2016 (2016 No 49).