Northern Territory Consolidated Acts Northern Territory Consolidated Acts(1) A police officer must not charge a youth at a police station with an offence unless the officer believes on reasonable grounds that:
(a) the youth will not appear in court to answer a summons in relation to the offence; or
(b) releasing the youth from custody will be accompanied by a substantial risk of:
(i) a continuation or repetition of the offence or another offence by the youth; or
(ii) the loss or destruction of evidence relating to the offence; or
(iii) harm to the youth.
(2) If subsection (1)(a) or (b) applies, the officer may, subject to section 21, charge the youth at a police station with the offence and:
(a) release the youth on bail; or
(b) apply under section 24 for an order that the youth be detained in custody.
(3) Subsection (2)(a) does not apply if the offence with which the youth is charged is a prescribed offence as defined in section 3B of the Bail Act 1982 .