Armed Forces Act 2006

315 Deserters and absentees without leave surrendering to civilian police

(1) Where—

(a) a person surrenders to a civilian policeman as being a person subject to service law who has deserted or is absent without leave, and

(b) the surrender occurs at a place in a relevant territory which is not a police station,

he must be taken to a police station.

(2) Subsection (3) applies where a person—

(a) is brought to a police station under subsection (1), or

(b) surrenders to a civilian policeman, at a police station in a relevant territory, as being a person subject to service law who has deserted or is absent without leave.

(3) The person in charge of the police station, or a person authorised by him, must consider the case.

(4) If it appears to the person considering the case that the person who has surrendered is a person subject to service law who has deserted or is absent without leave, he may—

(a) arrange for him to be transferred to service custody;

(b) arrange for him to be brought, as soon as practicable, before a court of summary jurisdiction in the relevant territory in which the police station is situated; or

(c) release him subject to a condition that he reports, at or by such time as may be specified in the condition, to such place or person as may be so specified for the purpose of enabling him to be taken into service custody.

(5) In this section “civilian policeman” means an officer of a UK police force or British overseas territory police force.

(6) In this section “relevant territory” has the same meaning as in section 314.