Senate Bill sb1398

    Florida Senate - 2006                                  SB 1398

    By Senator Smith





    14-1020-06

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to youth custody officers;

  3         amending s. 985.2075, F.S.; requiring that a

  4         youth custody officer take a youth into custody

  5         if the officer has probable cause to believe

  6         that the youth has escaped from a facility

  7         operated by the Department of Juvenile Justice

  8         or has absconded from the supervision of the

  9         department; requiring a youth custody officer

10         to report a new violation of criminal law and

11         gather evidence before delivering a youth to

12         certain facilities; authorizing a youth custody

13         officer to exercise his or her arrest powers

14         under certain circumstances; prohibiting a

15         youth custody officer from enforcing state

16         traffic laws; providing an effective date.

17  

18  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

19  

20         Section 1.  Subsection (1) of section 985.2075, Florida

21  Statutes, is amended, present subsection (2) of that section

22  is redesignated as subsection (3), and a new subsection (2) is

23  added to that section, to read:

24         985.2075  Youth custody officer.--

25         (1)  There is created within the Department of Juvenile

26  Justice the position of youth custody officer. The duties of

27  each youth custody officer shall be to take youth into custody

28  if the officer has probable cause to believe that the youth

29  has violated the conditions of probation, home detention,

30  conditional release, or postcommitment probation; has escaped

31  from a facility operated by or under contract with the

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida Senate - 2006                                  SB 1398
    14-1020-06




 1  department; has absconded from the supervision of the

 2  department;, or has failed to appear in court after being

 3  properly noticed. The authority of the youth custody officer

 4  to take youth into custody is specifically limited to this

 5  purpose.

 6         (2)  Notwithstanding any other provision of this

 7  chapter, a youth custody officer who, while performing his or

 8  her duties, takes a youth into custody for any reason

 9  specified in subsection (1) and has probable cause to believe

10  that the youth has committed a new violation of criminal law

11  shall report the alleged violation and gather any evidence for

12  prosecution in a court of law before delivering the youth to a

13  local law enforcement agency, juvenile assessment center, or

14  detention center.  If a felony or a misdemeanor is committed

15  by a youth in the presence of a youth custody officer, the

16  youth custody officer may, while performing his or her duties

17  of apprehension and investigation, exercise his or her arrest

18  powers as a sworn state law enforcement officer.  A youth

19  custody officer may not exercise any power or duty authorized

20  in chapter 316.

21         Section 2.  This act shall take effect October 1, 2006.

22  

23            *****************************************

24                          SENATE SUMMARY

25    Requires that a youth custody officer take a youth into
      custody if the officer has probable cause to believe that
26    the youth has escaped from a facility operated by the
      Department of Juvenile Justice or has absconded from the
27    supervision of the department. Requires a youth custody
      officer to report a new violation of criminal law and
28    gather evidence before delivering a youth to certain
      facilities. Authorizes a youth custody officer to
29    exercise his or her arrest powers under certain
      circumstances. Prohibits a youth custody officer from
30    exercising powers under the state traffic control law.

31  

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.