Is it Legal to Run Away From Home in Arizona

My question involves juvenile law in the State of: Arizona. I am getting mixed answers form things online. Is it true that in Arizona i can runaway from home (i am 17 by the way) and police wont bother looking for me unless they suspect danger? What if i move in with a girl that is a few years older and i let my parents know im safe every other day or so and i still go to school every day and keep my job? Will i get in trouble when police find me? Will the girl I'mm living with get in trouble since she is of age and I am a minor? I found out that in Arizona if police come across a runaway it isnt a big deal they just ask if im abused at home and if not they just return me to my family and thats it. True? Im so confused.

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Quoting kristenkl13

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My question involves juvenile law in the State of: Arizona. I am getting mixed answers form things online. Is it true that in Arizona i can runaway from home (i am 17 by the way) and police wont bother looking for me unless they suspect danger? What if i move in with a girl that is a few years older and i let my parents know im safe every other day or so and i still go to school every day and keep my job? Will i get in trouble when police find me? Will the girl I'mm living with get in trouble since she is of age and I am a minor? I found out that in Arizona if police come across a runaway it isnt a big deal they just ask if im abused at home and if not they just return me to my family and thats it. True? Im so confused.

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The answers haven't changed since the last time you were asking....

but this isnt emancipation. this is just leaving. I keep finding that in Arizona it isnt a crime and nobody cares as long as i am alive and safe.

It may not be a crime, but if you are a runaway or out of the control of your parents, then the police can generally haul you back home. In some states (and AZ may be one of them) the police cannot forcibly return a 17-year-old home.

Additionally, even if they will not return YOU, the people that are aiding you in being out of your parent's control could be charged with crimes relating to custodial interference or contributing to your delinquency. In short, you may get your friends arrested.

Have you thought to ask the local police what they would do?

yes my friend actually suggested i talk to an officer but isnt that a bit ridiculous? "Excuse me sir, what would you do if I were to runaway from home?"
I dont know, I really dont think I have the guts to do something like this but its nice to know i have the option when things get really bad again.

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Quoting kristenkl13

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yes my friend actually suggested i talk to an officer but isnt that a bit ridiculous? "Excuse me sir, what would you do if I were to runaway from home?"

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There is a magical and anonymous device called "a phone." You can always call them and ask to speak to a juvenile officer, or the missing person's unit, or whomever. However, I would suspect that if they hear a juvenile voice on the phone they are not going to give you the okay to bail, so you are not likely to hear what you want to hear. Sorry.

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I dont know, I really dont think I have the guts to do something like this but its nice to know i have the option when things get really bad again.

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You have the option to do many things ... getting others in trouble with the law is not one of them.

If things are "bad" then you need to call the appropriate authorities (provided that it is the adults who are doing something wrong and not just a teenager with an attitude). Teens frequently feel they are being abused or otherwise treated unfairly - it is the nature of being a teenager, I guess. But, that doesn't give them (you) a right to runaway.

When you are 18 you can move out on your own, get a job, and start paying all your own bills ... be ready for that rude awakening of just how much the real world costs and how little money you will have to do the fun things you want to do.

Ok ok thanks for the help. This site always calms me down after i get the crazy ideas worked up. I feel better now.
Its not that i think im abused or treated unfairly, i just hate being cussed at constantly when i never fight back like that and not being accepted for who i am after i've worked hard in school and done everything else right, i just dont understand. they are very closed-minded people, my parents.
But im prepared for that "rude awakening" and working all my life and getting into college, i look forward to it. just, another whole year is going to kill me. but thanks, i just had those few questions. curiosity more than actually planning to leave.

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Quoting kristenkl13

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Ok ok thanks for the help. This site always calms me down after i get the crazy ideas worked up. I feel better now.

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I am glad you can calm down after posting.

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Its not that i think im abused or treated unfairly, i just hate being cussed at constantly when i never fight back like that and not being accepted for who i am after i've worked hard in school and done everything else right, i just dont understand. they are very closed-minded people, my parents.

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Hmmm ... you sound like most every other teenager in the country - mine included. Your angst is natural, but you are probably over-dramatizing things. If you settle down and look at it objectively you will probably find that your parents were not so wrong after all (and one day you will likely do just that ... though you may be 25+ dealing with your own kids by then).

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But im prepared for that "rude awakening" and working all my life and getting into college, i look forward to it. just, another whole year is going to kill me. but thanks, i just had those few questions. curiosity more than actually planning to leave.

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Preparing for the real world and living it are NOT the same thing. I thought I had it all figured out and I left home at 22 ... wow, was I ever wrong! Sure, you figure rent, utilities, maybe food ... but what about gas? Cable or Satellite TV? Toothpaste? Toilet paper? Furniture? Food, drinks, snacks? Movies? Cell phones? Blankets and sheets? Pillows? etc. .... It is the little things that will come back to haunt you. And if you leave home angry and resentful for what your parents did, they just might decide that you need a little life lesson, and it won't be what you think it is.

Being prepared in theory is not the same as living it.

I'll also add that EVEN IF AZ is one of those states where the cops are limited in their ability to force a 17 year old back home (and I have never heard that it is), that does not stop your parents themselves from doing so. And in any state, anyone who harbors a runaway can find themselves on the wrong end of the law.

I will put it to you this way.

I was honestly surprised at how many of my parents' terrible, constricting and soul sucking rules my own children now live under.

You are at that point in your life where you so desperately just want to get on with it. You are ready to jump into the deep waters of adulthood... but you have to trust your parents as the people that know you better than anyone. No, I am not saying that being a parent makes you perfect or infallible... I am saying that maybe they know more than you do about some parts of life.