72 Hour Hold/Lockdown

[Guest]

I heard from a friend that if police try to return me to my home when I'm still in danger, I can ask to be put on 72 hour lockdown. As in, I can ask to be taken into someone else's (their) custody for three days, and I will get access to social workers and counseling. Do you guys know anything about this? I want to ask to be put on 72 hour lockdown because I know my parents will report me. It's either this, or juvie. Any advice?

[ccsmod7]

Hello there, thanks for reaching out today.

It sounds like you were told that a 72 hour hold is a place you can go rather than be sent home when you are runaway. We are not legal experts, but we do have a different general idea of what a 72 hour hold is. That hold is for anyone, young and old, who are suicidal or who have attempted suicide. Typically, those how are feeling suicidal will be held in the hospital for 72 hours for their safety.

If you are being returned to an unsafe place, you can tell police that you do not feel safe going back home and disclose the abuse at that time. Typically police should look for a safe place for you to go for the night and contact child protective services; however, that is up to the actions of the responding officer.

You mentioned being unsafe at home, if you feel like you are feeling like you are in immediate danger please call 911. If you are being harmed at home we want to let you know that is so not okay. You might call the expert child advocates at Child Help 1-800-422-4453 if you are interested in reporting the abuse or learning more about reporting could look like for you. You can always call us at 1-800-RUNAWAY as well if you would like to talk about reporting.

Please do not hesitate to call or chat us if you ever need. We are here to listen, here to help.

-NRS

[Guest]

Thank you for your response. When you say that a police officer can take me to a safe place for the night, could I ask to be taken to a shelter? There is a shelter I found while planning that is a good 48 minutes away from where I live. Can I ask the police to specifically take me there or would they not even bother?

Also, If I run a short distance, then call the police and tell them what's going on and ask them to take me away for a while, will they take me home, tell my parents and then take me away? Or would they take me, put me in my safe place, and then let my parents know what happened?

[ccsmod7]

Hi, thanks for reaching out again.

It sounds like you’ve done some searching and have found a shelter nearly an hour away that you think could be an option for you, and are thinking that is where you would ask the police to take you.

It’s hard to say exactly how the police respond or which place specifically they would take you for a safe place; it really could vary from station to station and also on whether there is a location closer that they would consider safe for you, or even bed availability at the shelter you’ve identified.

One way you might consider finding out is to call your local police department’s non-emergency line and ask the questions anonymously. Or, if you don’t feel comfortable doing that yourself, you could always call our hotline at 1.800.RUNAWAY and as the liner working with you if they could call on your behalf to get those questions answered.
If the police were unable to take you, you might consider if there are alternative ways to get there – like, by having a friend or trusted relative with a car drive you, or by using public transportation if available.

Regarding the second part of your question – it sounds like you are considering possibly running a short distance, then calling the police to let them know what’s going on. Again, we’re not legal experts, and how the police will handle can vary from state to state, city to city or even department to department – in general, family reunification is a goal, unless there is indication that the place to which you’d be returned is unsafe for you. An anonymous call to the police department again might be of assistance to determine how they would handle such a call locally.

There may be other options available to you that a legal expert could help clarify – if you want to explore that option or any of the previous options discussed further, please don’t hesitate to contact us again – your safety is most important to us.
We hope this has been helpful – if you have any additional questions, know that we’re here 24 hours a day 7 days a week to listen and to help. Please call or chat us as we can only respond once more on the forum since our forum services are limited.

Best of luck

- NRS