BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 238
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 238 (Gomez)
As Amended May 29, 2013
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |76-0 |(April 18, |SENATE: |33-0 |(July 8, 2013) |
| | |2013) | | | |
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Original Committee Reference: JUD.
SUMMARY : Requires law enforcement to enter emergency protective
orders (EPOs) into the California Restraining and Protective
Order System (CARPOS). Specifically, this bill , for both civil
and criminal EPOs:
1)Requires the law enforcement officer requesting an EPO to
enter the order into CARPOS.
2)Deletes the requirement that the officer who requests the EPO
carry copies of the order while on duty.
The Senate amendments delete the requirement that the order be
entered into CARPOS within two hours of issuance.
EXISTING LAW :
1) Allows a law enforcement officer to seek an EPO from a
court, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, if any person or
child is in immediate and present danger of domestic violence
or abuse, or in imminent danger of abduction by a parent or
relative, or stalking. The EPO may only be issued if the
judicial officer makes specified findings.
2) Provides that an EPO expires in either five court days
or seven calendar days after issuance, whichever is shorter.
3) Requires the law enforcement officer who requests an
EPO to serve the EPO on the restrained party, if that party
can reasonably be located; provide a copy to the protected
party; file a copy with the court as soon as practicable
after issuance; and carry a copy of the order while on duty.
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4) Requires whenever a protective order or restraining
order are issued, as provided, specified information about
the order be entered into the Department of Justice's
Domestic Violence Restraining Order System within one
business day by any law enforcement officer who served the
protective order and by the clerk of the court if someone
other than an officer served the order.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, annual state-reimbursable costs likely less than
$50,000 (General Fund). Los Angeles County issued approximately
5,500 EPOs in 2012. Assuming three to five minutes per EPO
entry, estimated statewide costs to enter 16,500 EPOs would be
in the range of $22,000 to $37,000 (General Fund).
COMMENTS : EPOs are designed to protect victims of domestic
violence in emergency situations. They may be requested by a
law enforcement officer when the officer has reasonable grounds
to believe that there is immediate danger of abuse, based on a
victim's allegation of abuse or threat of abuse, abduction or
stalking. A judicial officer may issue the requested EPO only
if the judicial officer finds that reasonable grounds have been
asserted by the law enforcement officer that there is an
immediate and present danger of abuse and that the EPO is
necessary to prevent the abuse. After the order is issued, the
requesting officer is required to serve the EPO on the
restrained party, if that party can reasonably be located;
provide a copy to the protected party; file a copy with the
court as soon as practicable after issuance; and carry a copy of
the order while on duty. The order lasts for the lesser of five
court days or seven calendar days, and is issued immediately
without prior notice to the restrained party.
In order to better protect victims of abuse, restraining orders
must be entered into a statewide database of protective orders,
known as the California Restraining and Protective Order System,
so that the orders can more easily be tracked and enforced.
CARPOS, which is part of California Law Enforcement
Telecommunications System (CLETS), is maintained by the
Department of Justice. Current law requires that information
contained in a civil or criminal domestic violence protective
order must be entered into CARPOS (previously known as the
Domestic Violence Restraining Order System). The information
must be added to CARPOS within one business day by any law
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enforcement officer who serves a covered protective order. If
the protective order is served by someone other than a police
officer, the information must be added to CARPOS within one
business day by the court clerk that receives proof of service
of the order.
EPOs have not been required to be entered into CARPOS. It is
believed that this is because order information is not always
entered into CARPOS in a timely manner and given the very short
life of an EPO, the order could well be expired before it is
even entered into the system. Instead the police officer who
sought the EPO was required to provide a copy of the order to
the victim, serve the order on the restrained person, assuming
that person could be located, and carry a copy of the order
while on duty. This bill requires that instead of the
requesting officer carrying around a copy of the order, the
order be entered into CARPOS by law enforcement.
According to the author, this bill is necessary because the
current procedure, where the requesting officer carries around
the order is simply not workable: "This procedure is not
workable because when the officer is off duty, what happens to
those orders?"
Judicial Council has been developing its own protective order
registry, known as the California Courts Protective Order
Registry (CCPOR), which has now been deployed to 21 courts.
CCPOR is a statewide repository of restraining orders available
to judicial officers and law enforcement. It provides courts
with an easier way to enter information into CARPOS. It also
allows for greater accessibility of information by providing not
just data fields, but access to the entire protective order.
However, this system is not yet installed in all courts and, in
any event, is not meant as a replacement for CARPOS.
Law enforcement organizations write in support of the bill:
The requirement that a law enforcement officer who
requests an [EPO] carry a copy of the order while on
duty in the happenstance that he/she encounters the
suspect at a later time is pure folly. A far better
process that will serve the interests of public
safety, protect victims, be more effective and
efficient is to have the information entered into
[CARPOS] within two hours of issuance of the order so
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that any officer who encounters the suspect can advise
the suspect regarding the order. We believe AB 238
represents a common sense approach to improving law
enforcement protection to all victims of domestic
violence . . . .
Analysis Prepared by : Leora Gershenzon / JUD. / (916)
319-2334
FN: 0001358