Has your child been accused of committing a crime? Children taken into policy custody are treated differently than adults. In South Carolina, children are minors if they are less than seventeen years old. Otherwise, they are treated as adults. Children are not “arrested” but taken into policy custody. There are certain offenses that can only be committed by a child and these are called status offenses. Status offenses include:
- Running away from home
- Incorrigibility (beyond parents’ control)
- Truancy (skipping school)
- Playing or loitering in a pool hall (billiard room)
- Playing a pinball machine (not like the arcade, but an old gambling machine)
- Gaining admission to a theater by false identification
