Northern Territory Consolidated Acts Northern Territory Consolidated Acts(1) Without limiting the operation of section 123, but subject to subsections (2) and (3) of this section, a person taken into lawful custody under this or any other Act shall (subject to that Act where taken into custody under another Act) be brought before a court of competent jurisdiction as soon as is practicable after being taken into custody, unless he or she is sooner granted bail under the Bail Act 1982 or is released from custody.
Note for subsection (1)
Section 49E(8) of the Evidence Act 1939 provides that a requirement that a person be before a court is taken to be satisfied if the person is before the court by way of a communication link in accordance with Part 5, Division 2 of that Act.
(2) Despite any other law in force in the Territory (including the common law), but subject to subsections (3) and (4), a member of the Police Force may, for a reasonable period, continue to hold a person the member has taken into lawful custody in custody to enable:
(a) the person to be questioned; or
(b) investigations to be carried out;
to obtain evidence of or in relation to an offence that the member believes on reasonable grounds involves the person, whether or not:
(c) it is the offence in respect of which the person was taken into custody; or
(d) the offence was committed in the Territory;
and the person must not be granted bail under Part 3 or section 33 of the Bail Act 1982 while so detained, whether or not the person has been charged with an offence.
(3) A member of the Police Force may continue to hold a person under subsection (2) for the purposes of enabling the person to be questioned or investigations to be carried out to obtain evidence of or in relation to:
(a) the offence in respect of which the person was taken into custody, only if it is an offence the maximum penalty for which, in the jurisdiction in which it is believed to have been committed, is imprisonment for any period; or
(b) an offence that is not the offence in respect of which the person was taken into custody, only if it is an offence the maximum penalty for which, in the jurisdiction in which it is believed to have been committed, is imprisonment for 5 years or more.
(4) If the person taken into custody is a youth within the meaning of the Youth Justice Act 2005 :
(a) every 4 hours for a period of up to 24 hours a member of the Police Force holding the rank of Senior Sergeant or a higher rank must review and record the necessity of holding the youth for the purposes of enabling the youth to be questioned or investigations to be carried out; and
(b) before the expiry of the 24 hour period, the member may:
(i) apply to a Local Court Judge to hold the youth for an additional period of up to 4 hours; and
(ii) make subsequent applications to a Local Court Judge for the holding of the youth for each 4 hour period.
(5) Any action taken under this section is not unlawful only because of a failure to comply with subsection (4).