Florida Statutes 2017 985.12 Civil citation. (1) There is established a juvenile civil citation process for the purpose of providing an efficient and innovative alternative to custody by the Department of Juvenile Justice for children who commit nonserious delinquent acts and to ensure swift and appropriate consequences. The department shall encourage and assist in the implementation and improvement of civil citation programs or other similar diversion programs around the state. The civil citation or similar diversion program shall be established at the local level with the concurrence of the chief judge of the circuit, state attorney, public defender, and the head of each local law enforcement agency involved. The program may be operated by an entity such as a law enforcement agency, the department, a juvenile assessment center, the county or municipality, or another entity selected by the county or municipality. An entity operating the civil citation or similar diversion program must do so in consultation and agreement with the state attorney and local law enforcement agencies. Under such a juvenile civil citation or similar diversion program, a law enforcement officer, upon making contact with a juvenile who admits having committed a misdemeanor, may choose to issue a simple warning or inform the child s guardian or parent of the child s infraction, or may issue a civil citation or require participation in a similar diversion program, and assess up to 50 community service hours, and require participation in intervention services as indicated by an assessment of the needs of the juvenile, including family counseling, urinalysis monitoring, and substance abuse and mental health treatment services. A copy of each citation issued under this section shall be provided to the department, and the department shall enter appropriate information into the juvenile offender information system. Use of the civil citation or similar diversion program is not limited to first-time misdemeanors and may be used in up to two subsequent misdemeanors. If an arrest is made, a law enforcement officer must provide written documentation as to why an arrest was warranted. At the conclusion of a juvenile s civil citation program or similar diversion program, the agency operating the program shall report the outcome to the department. The issuance of a civil citation is not considered a referral to the department. (2) The department shall develop guidelines for the civil citation program which include intervention services that are based upon proven civil citation or similar diversion programs within the state. (3) Upon issuing such citation, the law enforcement officer shall send a copy to the county sheriff, state attorney, the appropriate intake office of the department, or the community service performance monitor designated by the department, the parent or guardian of the child, and the victim. (4) The child shall report to the community service performance monitor within 7 working days after the date of issuance of the citation. The work assignment shall be accomplished at a rate of not less than 5 hours per week. The monitor shall advise the intake office immediately upon reporting by the child to the monitor, that the child has in fact reported and the expected date upon which completion of the work assignment will be accomplished. (5) If the child fails to report timely for a work assignment, complete a work assignment, or comply with assigned intervention services within the prescribed time, or if the juvenile commits a subsequent
misdemeanor, the law enforcement officer shall issue a report alleging the child has committed a delinquent act, at which point a juvenile probation officer shall process the original delinquent act as a referral to the department and refer the report to the state attorney for review. (6) At the time of issuance of the citation by the law enforcement officer, such officer shall advise the child that the child has the option to refuse the citation and to be referred to the intake office of the department. That option may be exercised at any time before completion of the work assignment. History. s. 5, ch. 90-208; s. 1, ch. 92-20; s. 23, ch. 94-209; s. 45, ch. 97-238; s. 19, ch. 98-207; s. 19, ch. 2006-120; s. 1, ch. 2011-124; s. 1, ch. 2015-46. Note. Former s. 39.0255; s. 985.301.
Florida Statutes 2017 985.125 Prearrest or postarrest diversion programs. (1) A law enforcement agency or school district, in cooperation with the state attorney, may establish a prearrest or postarrest diversion program. (2) As part of the prearrest or postarrest diversion program, a child who is alleged to have committed a delinquent act may be required to surrender his or her driver license, or refrain from applying for a driver license, for not more than 90 days. If the child fails to comply with the requirements of the program, the state attorney may notify the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles in writing to suspend the child s driver license for a period that may not exceed 90 days. (3) The prearrest or postarrest diversion program may, upon agreement of the agencies that establish the program, provide for the expunction of the nonjudicial arrest record of a minor who successfully completes such a program pursuant to s. 943.0582. History. s. 1, ch. 99-267; s. 29, ch. 2001-125; s. 11, ch. 2001-127; s. 20, ch. 2006-120; s. 4, ch. 2016-42. Note. Former s. 985.3065.
SPONSOR: Rep. Heffernan & Rep. J. Johnson & Rep. K. Williams & Sen. McDowell Reps. Baumbach, Bentz; Sen. Lopez, Townsend HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 148th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE BILL NO. 405 AS AMENDED BY HOUSE AMENDMENT NO. 1 AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 10 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A JUVENILE OFFENDER CIVIL CITATION PROGRAM. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE: Section 1. Amend Subchapter III, Chapter 9, Title 10 of the Delaware Code by making the insertions as shown by underline as follows. 1004A Juvenile offender civil citation program. (a)there is hereby established a juvenile offender civil citation option to provide a civil alternative to arrest and criminal prosecution for eligible youth who have committed minor misdemeanor acts of delinquency as set forth herein.the civil citation program shall be coordinated by a statewide Civil Citation Coordinator within the Division of Youth Rehabilitative Services and shall include assessment and intervention services that a juvenile voluntarily agrees to complete in lieu of formal arrest and prosecution. (b)(1) Referral to the civil citation program shall be initiated by a peace officer through the issuance of a civil citation. Any peace officer having reasonable grounds to believe that a juvenile has committed or attempted to commit an act of delinquency specified in paragraph (2) of this subsection may issue the juvenile a civil citation. The issuance of a civil citation shall be at the discretion of the peace officer and limited to first-time offenders. Participation in the civil citation program is voluntary on the part of the juvenile offender and requires parental consent. Referral to the civil citation program shall be made with the consent of the victim if one exists. (2) The offenses eligible for disposition pursuant to a civil citation shall be: a. underage possession or consumption of alcohol in violation of 4 Del. C. 904; b. criminal trespass in the third degree in violation of 11 Del. C. 821;
c. misdemeanor shoplifting in violation of 11 Del. C. 840; d. disorderly conduct in violation of 11 Del. C. 1301; e. loitering in violation of 11 Del. C. 1321; f. possession of marijuana in violation of 16 Del. C. 4764. (3) For purposes of this section, a first-time offender is defined as any juvenile who has no prior adjudication of delinquency, referral to the civil citation program or any other diversion program. (c) A civil citation shall be initiated by entering all required information into the Law Enforcement Investigative Support System (LEISS) to include a description of the misdemeanor offense believed to have been committed; contact information for the designated Civil Citation community providers; notification that the juvenile must contact the identified Civil Citation community provider within 7 business days to schedule their intake and initial assessment; and a warning that failure to contact the identified Civil Citation community provider may result in the juvenile's arrest and the commencement of delinquency proceedings as otherwise provided in this subchapter. (d) At the time of issuance of a civil citation by the peace officer, the peace officer shall advise the juvenile that the juvenile has the option to refuse the civil citation and instead be taken into custody and subject to arrest and prosecution as otherwise provided in this subchapter. Upon issuance of a civil citation, the peace officer shall submit the civil citation through LEISS to the Civil Citation Coordinator. (e) A juvenile issued a civil citation shall contact the identified Civil Citation community provider within 7 business days or as otherwise directed in the civil citation and thereafter report to the identified provider to which the juvenile is referred. (f) Providers shall assess referred juveniles using an approved risk assessment tool and may recommend the juvenile to participate in counseling, treatment, community service or other interventions appropriate to the needs of the juvenile as identified by the assessment. (g) Upon completion of all terms and conditions of the civil citation program, the juvenile shall be discharged successfully without arrest. (h) If the juvenile fails to comply with any requirements of the civil citation program, including any assessments or required services, or otherwise violates any terms or conditions imposed by the identified provider, the juvenile shall be unsuccessfully discharged from the civil citation program.the Civil Citation Coordinator shall advise the referring peace officer of a juvenile's unsuccessful termination from the program.a peace officer, upon receiving notice that a juvenile to whom they have issued a civil citation has been unsuccessfully discharged from
the civil citation program, shall be authorized to arrest the juvenile and proceed as otherwise provided in this subchapter. (i) Participation in the Civil Citation Program shall not, with respect to a subsequent arrest, serve to disqualify or otherwise preclude a juvenile from participating in any diversion program at the discretion of the Attorney General. Section 2. The Civil Citation Coordinator and the Quality Assurance Unit of the Division of Youth and Rehabilitative Services will collect and analyze the civil citation program data, and make annual recommendations to the Criminal Justice Council/Juvenile Justice Advisory Group and the General Assembly regarding the expansion and funding of the civil citation program. Section 3. This Act expires 2 years after its enactment into law unless otherwise provided by a subsequent act of the General Assembly.
Delaware s House Bill No. 8 Juvenile Civil Citation Expansion SPONSOR: Reps. Baumbach, Bentz, Bolden, Brady, Keeley, Kowalko, Longhurst, Lynn, Osienski, Paradee, Potter; Sen. Townsend Rep. Heffernan & Rep. J. Johnson & Sen. McDowell HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 149th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE BILL NO. 8 AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 10 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE JUVENILE OFFENDER CIVIL CITATION PROGRAM. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE: Section 1. Amend 1004A, Title 10 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strikethrough and insertions as shown by underline as follows: 1004A. Juvenile Offender Civil Citation Program [For application of this section, see 80 Del. Laws, c. 38, 6] [Expires Sept. 6, 2018, pursuant to 80 Del. Laws, c. 412, 3] (b)(1) Referral to the Juvenile Offender Civil Citation Program shall be initiated by a peace officer through the issuance of a civil citation. Any peace officer having reasonable grounds to believe that a juvenile has committed or attempted to commit an act of delinquency specified in paragraph (b)(2) of this section may issue the juvenile a civil citation. The issuance of a civil citation shall be at the discretion of the peace officer and limited to firsttime qualified juvenile offenders. Participation in the Juvenile Offender Civil Citation Program is voluntary on the part of the juvenile offender and requires parental consent. Referral to the Juvenile Offender Civil Citation Program shall be made with the consent of the victim if one exists. (2) The offenses eligible for disposition pursuant to a civil citation shall be: f. Possession of marijuana in violation of 4764 of Title 16;. g. Possession of drug paraphernalia in violation of 4771(a) of Title 16.
(3) For purposes of this section, a " first-time qualified juvenile offender" is defined as any juvenile who has : a. no No prior adjudication of delinquency ;, or and b. No prior referral to the Juvenile Offender Civil Citation or any other diversion program unless more than 18 months have elapsed since the first referral and the prior referral was for a different offense. SYNOPSIS This bill seeks to expand the eligibility criteria for the Juvenile Offender Civil Citation Program by including the offense of possession of drug paraphernalia and permitting a second referral to the Juvenile Offender Civil Citation Program where the first referral occurred more than 18 months ago and was not a referral for the same offense.
Florida Statutes 2017 (with suggested amendments) 985.12 Civil citation. (1) There is established a juvenile civil citation process for the purpose of providing an efficient and innovative alternative to custody by the Department of Juvenile Justice for children who commit nonserious delinquent acts and to ensure swift and appropriate consequences. The department shall encourage and assist in the implementation and improvement of civil citation programs or other similar diversion programs around the state. The civil citation or similar diversion program shall be established at the local level with the concurrence of the chief judge of the circuit, state attorney, public defender, and the head of each local law enforcement agency involved. The program may be operated by an entity such as a law enforcement agency, the department, a juvenile assessment center, the county or municipality, or another entity selected by the county or municipality. An entity operating the civil citation or similar diversion program must do so in consultation and agreement with the state attorney, public defender, and local law enforcement agencies. Under such a juvenile civil citation or similar diversion program, a law enforcement officer, upon making contact with a juvenile in which probable causes for a misdemeanor exists, who admits having committed a misdemeanor, may choose to issue a simple warning or inform the child s guardian or parent of the child s infraction, or may issue a civil citation or require participation in a similar diversion program, and assess up to 50 community service hours, and require participation in intervention services as indicated by an assessment of the needs of the juvenile, including family counseling, urinalysis monitoring, and substance abuse and mental health treatment services. A copy of each citation issued under this section shall be provided to the department, and the department shall enter appropriate information into the juvenile offender information system. Use of the civil citation or similar diversion program is not limited to first-time misdemeanors and may be used in up to two subsequent misdemeanors. Although a law enforcement officer has discretion whether to issue a civil citation, there shall be a presumption that children eligible for civil citations should receive such as opposed to being arrested. If an arrest is made, a law enforcement officer must provide written documentation as to why an arrest was warranted and shall send a copy to the state attorney and public defender. At the conclusion of a juvenile s civil citation program or similar diversion program, the agency operating the program shall report the outcome to the department. The issuance of a civil citation is not considered a referral to the department. (2) The department shall develop guidelines for the civil citation program which include intervention services that are based upon proven civil citation or similar diversion programs within the state. (3) Upon issuing such citation, the law enforcement officer shall send a copy to the county sheriff, state attorney, the appropriate intake office of the department, or the community service performance monitor designated by the department, the parent or guardian of the child, and the victim. (4) The child shall report to the community service performance monitor within 7 working days after the date of issuance of the citation. The work assignment shall be accomplished at a rate of not less than 5 hours per week. The monitor shall advise the intake office immediately upon reporting by the child to
the monitor, that the child has in fact reported and the expected date upon which completion of the work assignment will be accomplished. (5) If the child fails to report timely for a work assignment, complete a work assignment, or comply with assigned intervention services within the prescribed time, or if the juvenile commits a subsequent misdemeanor, the law enforcement officer shall issue a report alleging the child has committed a delinquent act, at which point a juvenile probation officer shall process the original delinquent act as a referral to the department and refer the report to the state attorney for review. (6) At the time of issuance of the citation by the law enforcement officer, such officer shall advise the child that the child has the option to refuse the citation and to be referred to the intake office of the department. That option may be exercised at any time before completion of the work assignment. History. s. 5, ch. 90-208; s. 1, ch. 92-20; s. 23, ch. 94-209; s. 45, ch. 97-238; s. 19, ch. 98-207; s. 19, ch. 2006-120; s. 1, ch. 2011-124; s. 1, ch. 2015-46. Note. Former s. 39.0255; s. 985.301. Rmason version
1 Introduced by Council Member : 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 Resolution City of Jacksonville A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF JACKSONVILLE DECLARING THAT A NEED EXISTS FOR MORE EFFICENT USE OF THE CIVIL CITATION PROCESS FOR ELIGIBLE FIRST-TIME MISDEMEANOR OFFENDERS WHEREAS, the Florida Legislature passed CS/HB997 in 2011 which encouraged the implementation and improvement of civil citations at the local level, and Florida Statute, Section 985.12 authorizes local governments to establish a civil citation program. WHEREAS, decades of research show that arresting children for prosecution of minor offenses needlessly harms children without any significant increase in public safety. WHEREAS, only 31% of the eligible first-time misdemeanor offenders were served in Duval County by way of civil citation in 2013. WHEREAS, other Florida counties have been utilizing the civil citation process more efficiently: Dade 86%, Pinellas 82%, Wakulla 80%, Monroe 80%, Union 67%, Gadsden 65%, Seminole 61%, Marion 61%, Leon 60%, Hernando 51%, Jefferson 50%, Broward 48%, Baker, 46%, Pasco 45%, Citrus 43%, Alachua 37%, Hillsborough 36%, Collier 34%, and St. Johns 34%. WHEREAS, the cost of processing a juvenile by way of arrest is substantially higher than issuing a civil citation. 31
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 WHEREAS, efficiently utilizing the civil citation program is a very positive alternative for delinquent youth and has been shown to be effective in preventing youth from having a criminal record, reducing recidivism rates, and keeping law enforcement officers on the streets in order to attend to more serious and violent offenders. BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF JACKSONVILLE: 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Section 1. The City Council hereby finds and declares that a need exists requiring the city to more efficiently utilize the civil citation process for eligible first-time misdemeanor youth as outlined in the Memorandum of Understanding: Duval County Civil Citation Operational Procedures signed by the Honorable Chief Judge Donald R. Moran, Sheriff John H. Rutherford, Public Defender Matthew A. Shirk, Department of Juvenile Justice Chief Probation Officer Robert R. Charlton, and Duval County Teen Court Program Director Lawrence Hills. Section 2. Effective Date. This resolution shall be come effective upon signature by the city council. 22 23 24 25 26 27 Form Approved: Office of General Counsel Legislation prepared by:
Please Join Senator Audrey Gibson (District 9) Representative Reggie Fullwood (District 13) Representative Mia L. Jones (District 14) Thursday, September 12, 2013 at 6 pm FSCJ Downtown Campus Auditorium (A-1068) 101 W. State St., Jacksonville, FL 32202 Community Meeting Saving our Youth Civil Citations: In and Out of School Meet Legislators and Community Leaders for an important discussion on prevention and diversion and the role of the civil citations program. We prefer you attend the meeting in person, but if you cannot, we have provided multiple ways for you to participate: Streaming live on the web at: http:// dmp.fscj.edu/live-stream/ Email your questions or concerns to: civilcitationsforum@yahoo.com Join via conference call: Toll free (855) 212-0212 enter pin number 990544046. The phone line will open at 6 p.m. and Q&A will start at 7 p.m. Panelists: Panel Discussion Mr. Rob Mason, Office of the Public Defender Mr. Lawrence Hills, Teen & Truancy Court Program Chief David Coffman, Duval County Public Schools Police Dr. Nikolai Vitti, Superintendent, Duval County Public Schools Mr. David Utter, Southern Poverty Law Center Attorney Rhonda Peoples-Waters, P.A. State Attorney Angela Corey (Invited) Director Michael Edwards, JSO (Invited) For more information contact: Brandy Wright: (904) 359-2553; Jackie Boyd: (904) 353-2180; Bobbi Warford: (904) 924-1615
Civil Citations in Duval County How Are We Doing? Jacksonville has 4.8% of Florida s Youth Population (ages 10-17), so proportionately we should have 4.8% of the state s civil citations but we don t. At the state average, children in Duval County would have received 420 civil citations, but Duval only issued 285. But is average even good enough? For the latest 12 month reporting period, 41% of eligible children in the state received a civil citation, but in Duval the average is only 33%. Percentages of eligible children receiving civil citations from various counties in Florida: Miami-Dade 90 % Pinellas 80% Broward 68% Leon 59% Marion 55% Palm Beach 40% Duval 33% Percentage of eligible children receiving civil citations by various law enforcement agencies in Florida: Miami Dade Police Department 99.6% St. Petersburg Police Department 89% Broward County Sheriff s Office 87% Pensacola Police Department 78% Tallahassee Police Department 70% Jacksonville Sheriff s Office 27% Duval is the only county in the state where children are banned from receiving civil citations for both battery charges and resisting arrest without violence charges. That means that for the last reporting year over 500 children were arrested in Duval County without even considering the appropriateness of issuing a civil citation. We can do better! All data from the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice website as of 4-25-15