BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2089
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 17, 2012
Counsel: Stella Choe
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Tom Ammiano, Chair
AB 2089 (Alejo) - As Amended: April 11, 2012
SUMMARY : Authorizes a peace officer who takes a minor into
temporary custody for without a warrant to issue a civil
citation to the minor if the minor is eligible to participate in
the program. Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires that the minor has not previously committed an
offense in order to be eligible for the program.
2)Requires the officer, upon issuing a civil citation, to notify
the probation department of the county in which the civil
citation was issued, the prosecutor, the minor's parents or
guardian, and the victim of the offense.
3)Requires the minor to report to the county probation
department within seven days after the civil citation was
issued.
4)States that the county probation department shall conduct a
risk and needs assessment of the minor. Following that
assessment, the probation department shall require the minor
to serve no more than 50 hours of community service, and may
require the minor to participate in intervention services,
including counseling, substance abuse treatment, and mental
health treatment. At the conclusion of the minor's civil
citation program, the probation department shall prepare and
maintain a report of the minor's participation in the program.
5)Provides that if the minor fails to report to the probation
department, fails to complete his or her community service
hours, fails to comply with any assigned intervention
services, or commits a subsequent offense, the probation
department shall present the affidavit describing the facts
constituting the original misdemeanor to the prosecuting
attorney.
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6)States that the minor may elect to refuse the civil citation
and have his or her case processed through the juvenile court
at any time before the minor's civil citation program is
completed.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Authorizes a peace officer, without a warrant, to take into
temporary custody a minor: who is under the age of 18 years
when the officer has reasonable cause for believing such minor
has committed a crime and is within the jurisdiction of the
juvenile court, who is a ward of the court and the officer has
reasonable cause for believing that person has violated an
order of the juvenile court or escaped from commitment, or who
is under the age of 18 years and who is found in any street or
public place suffering from any sickness or injury which
requires care, medical treatment, hospitalization, or other
remedial care. (Welfare and Institutions Code Section 625.)
2)Authorizes a peace officer who takes a minor into temporary
custody to do any of the following:
a) Release the minor;
b) Deliver or refer the minor to a public or private agency
with which the city or county has an agreement or plan to
provide shelter care, counseling, or diversion services to
minors so delivered;
c) Release the minor with a written notice to appear before
a probation officer. The officer shall file one copy of
the notice with the probation officer and provide a copy to
the minor or to a parent or guardian to sign. If there is
reasonable cause for believing that the minor committed a
felony, the written notice to appear may require that the
minor be fingerprinted, photographed, or both upon the
minor's appearance before the probation officer; or
d) Deliver the minor without unnecessary delay to the
county probation officer and provide a concise written
statement of the probable cause for taking the minor into
temporary custody and the reasons the minor was taken into
custody. In no case shall the peace officer delay the
delivery of the minor to the probation officer for more
than 24 hours if the minor has been taken into custody
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without a warrant on the belief that he or she has
committed a misdemeanor.
e) In determining which disposition of the minor to make,
the officer shall prefer the alternative which least
restricts the minor's freedom of movement, provided that
alternative is compatible with the best interests of the
minor and the community. (Welfare and Institutions Code
Section 626.)
3)States that if a peace officer who takes a minor into
temporary custody and determines that the minor should be
brought to the attention of the juvenile court, the peace
officer shall take one of the following actions:
a) Prepare a written notice to appear containing a time and
place for minor to appear along with a concise statement of
the reasons the minor was taken into custody, and
immediately release the minor once the notice to appear has
been executed. The officer shall file one copy of the
notice with the probation officer and provide a copy to the
minor or to a parent or guardian to sign; or
b) Deliver the minor without unnecessary delay to the
county probation officer and provide a concise written
statement of the probable cause for taking the minor into
temporary custody and the reasons the minor was taken into
custody. In no case shall the peace officer delay the
delivery of the minor to the probation officer for more
than 24 hours if the minor has been taken into custody
without a warrant on the belief that he or she has
committed a misdemeanor.
c) In determining which disposition of the minor he or she
will make, the peace officer shall prefer the alternative
which least restricts the minor's freedom of movement,
provided that alternative is compatible with the best
interests of the minor and the community. (Welfare and
Institutions Code Section 626.5.)
4)States that in any case in which a probation officer, after
investigation of an application for a petition or any other
investigation he or she is authorized to make concludes that a
minor is within the jurisdiction of the juvenile court or will
probably soon be within that jurisdiction, the probation
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officer may, in lieu of filing a petition to declare a minor a
dependent child of the court or a minor or a ward of the court
or requesting that a petition be filed by the prosecuting
attorney to declare a minor a ward of the court and with
consent of the minor and the minor's parent or guardian,
delineate specific programs of supervision for the minor, for
not to exceed six months, and attempt thereby to adjust the
situation which brings the minor within the jurisdiction of
the court or creates the probability that the minor will soon
be within that jurisdiction. Nothing in this section shall be
construed to prevent the probation officer from filing a
petition or requesting the prosecuting attorney to file a
petition at any time within the six-month period or a 90-day
period thereafter. If the probation officer determines that
the minor has not involved himself or herself in the specific
programs within 60 days, the probation officer shall
immediately file a petition or request that a petition be
filed by the prosecuting attorney. However, when in the
judgment of the probation officer the interest of the minor
and the community can be protected, the probation officer
shall make a diligent effort to proceed under this section.
(Welfare and Institutions Code Section 654.)
5)Makes ineligible for the program of supervision minors in
specified circumstances, except where the interests of justice
would best be served and the court states on the record the
reasons for its decision. (Welfare and Institutions Code
Section 654.3.)
6)Provides that when a minor has a case before the juvenile
court for a felony offense, the minor may be eligible for
deferred entry of judgment if all of the following
circumstances apply:
a) The minor has not previously been declared to be a ward
of the court for the commission of a felony offense;
b) The offense charged is not one of the offenses
enumerated in Welfare and Institutions Code Section 707(b);
c) The minor has not previously been committed to the
custody of the Youth Authority;
d) The minor's record does not indicate that probation has
ever been revoked without being completed;
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e) The minor is at least 14 years of age at the time of the
hearing; and,
f) The minor is eligible for probation. �Welfare and
Institutions Code Section 790(a).]
7)States that whenever the prosecuting attorney determines that
a minor is eligible for deferred entry of judgment, and upon a
finding that the minor is suitable for deferred entry of
judgment and would benefit from education, treatment, and
rehabilitation efforts, the court may grant deferred entry of
judgment. �Welfare and Institutions Code Section 790(b).]
8)States that if it appears to the prosecuting attorney, the
court, or the probation department that the minor is not
performing satisfactorily in the assigned program or is not
complying with the terms of probation, or the minor is not
benefitting from education, treatment, or rehabilitation, or
the minor is declared a ward of the court or convicted of any
felony offense or of any two misdemeanor offenses, the court
shall lift the deferred entry of judgment. �Welfare and
Institutions Code Section 793(a).]
9)Provides that if the minor has performed satisfactorily during
the period in which deferred entry of judgment was granted, at
the end of that period the charge or charges in the wardship
petition shall be dismissed and the arrest upon which the
judgment was deferred shall be deemed never to have occurred
and any records in the possession of the juvenile court shall
be sealed, except the prosecuting attorney and probation
department shall have access to these records after sealing
for the limited purpose of determining whether the minor is
eligible for deferred entry of judgment. �Welfare and
Institutions Code Section 793(b).]
FISCAL EFFECT : None
COMMENTS :
1)Author's Statement : According to the author, "This bill
provides an efficient and innovative alternative to custody
for minors who commit non-serious delinquent acts and to
ensure swift and appropriate consequences.
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"Promoting early intervention and diversion models would keep
minors that pose no real threats out of the juvenile justice
system thus decreasing the risk of them ending up deeper in
the system and likely to re-offend. This program would result
in significant cost savings and savings in resources that
could be used on more serious and violent offenders resulting
in improved public safety.
"Starting in 2007, the Florida county of Miami-Dade has
successfully administered the Civil Citation Program that
allows officer to circumvent arrests of minors who have
committed a minor first-time misdemeanor offense. As an
alternative to arrest, an officer refers eligible minors to a
county juvenile justice department where they receive an
assessment and application of appropriate, targeted
interventions. This program grew to 37 arresting agencies
participating in the program resulting in over 10,800
participants, a 82% successful completion rate, 23% in
reduction of arrests, 9% recidivism (FY08-09), and 95% of
participants are minorities. In 2011, the state of Florida
enacted this model as statewide law.
"Bringing this model to California allows for a change in the
systemic prevention model by allowing minors to attain
complete targeted treatment services outside of the systems
that currently exist and without the shame of a criminal
record. This bill would create the opportunity for cost
savings, decreased arrests will reduce the time and resources
spent on law enforcement, state attorneys, public defenders,
probation, and court personnel."
2)Background : According to the background information provided
by the author, "When a minor is detained and entered into the
juvenile justice system, they are more likely to end up deeper
in the system and are at risk to re-offend. Concurrently, the
current model employed to address small offenses is costly to
the justice system.
"AB 2089 addresses the high cost of arrest for minors committing
misdemeanor offenses. This bill gives law enforcement another
tool to address small offenses with swift and appropriate
consequences.
"By establishing Civil Citation statewide, the California can
focus limited resources to improve current programs that will
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in turn reduce juvenile crime and services required for
re-offenders."
3)American Bar Association's Report on Florida's Civil Citation
Program : According to the report, "�e]fforts to decriminalize
minor offenses in juvenile justice have produced high levels
of success. The use of civil citations for first- and (in
some instances) second-time misdemeanants has increased public
safety, reduced recidivism, and saved millions of taxpayer
dollars. Of communities implementing these programs, Florida's
civil citation programs stand out as models that focus on
rehabilitation, community safety, and efficiency.
"In the state of Florida between 2004 and 2005, 95,254 juveniles
were referred to the juvenile justice system. Of the offenses
that were referred, 26, 990 were for school-related offenses.
One of the reasons for the high number of school-related
offenses was the state's zero tolerance policy in education.
The policy led to an overreaction to discipline problems, with
high numbers of juveniles arrested and referred to the
juvenile justice system for minor behavioral issues that could
have been handled without law enforcement involvement. These
arrests and referrals then became a part of the juvenile's
record. Even worse, such punitive measures were often unevenly
applied: in the 2004-2005 school year, 46% of school
suspensions and police referrals that took place were for
African American students, even though these children made up
only 22.8% of the student population.
"Problems with such high numbers of referrals and arrests were
numerous. Arrest and referral often leads to negative
development in children. Those who are suspended and/or
arrested miss days of school, fall behind in classes, and may
become discouraged and drop out at an earlier age. Further,
such misbehavior is often a symptom of unknown mental health
or family issues that remain unsolved without proper treatment
and counseling. The high number of arrests overburdens the
legal system, and these professionals do not have the proper
time and resources to address the issues presented by
first-time juvenile offenders.
"Keeping these problems in mind, the state of Florida passed
Florida Statute Section 985.12. The statute authorizes
counties to implement civil citation programs for first- and
second-time misdemeanants in lieu of arrest and a juvenile
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record.
"Since Florida's civil citation statute has become law, several
counties throughout the state have created departments devoted
to civil citation programs. The goal of these programs is
threefold: (1) to keep youth that pose no threat to the
community out of the justice system, (2) to reduce the cost of
processing youth for misdemeanors that take time and resources
away from the system, and (3) to focus those limited resources
to focus on more serious offenses, thus improving public
safety. The focus of the programs is on youth who commit
non-serious delinquent acts. In other words, the programs
identify and recognize the difference between common youth
misbehavior and more serious offenses.
"Throughout the state, civil citation programs have proven to be
highly successful. The average costs associated with civil
citations is $386 per juvenile, compared to the $5000 it costs
to process a juvenile through the justice system. Recidivism
rates have also decreased throughout the state." �ABA Section
on Criminal Justice, Florida: Cost Effective Means to
Increasing Public Safety in Juvenile Justice (2010), pp. 1-2.]
4)Arguments in Support : According to the California Catholic
Conference , "AB 2089 builds from a very successful Civil
Citation Program model employed in Florida. It allows
officers to circumvent arrests of minors who have committed a
minor first-time misdemeanor offense. As an alternative to
arrest, an officer refers eligible minors to a county juvenile
justice department where they receive an assessment and may be
mandated up to 50 hours of community service. Bringing this
model to California allows for a change in the systematic
prevention model by allowing minors to attain complete
treatment services in venues that are outside of the systems
that currently respond and without shame of a criminal
record."
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Catholic Conference, Inc.
Opposition
AB 2089
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California District Attorneys Association
Analysis Prepared by : Stella Choe / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744