Policy Text
Policy
312Garden Grove Police Department
Policy Manual
Copyright Lexipol, LLC 2024/06/10, All Rights Reserved.
Published with permission by Garden Grove Police
DepartmentTemporary Custody of Juveniles - 1Temporary Custody of Juveniles
312.1 PURPOSE AND SCOPE
This policy provides guidelines consistent with the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
Act for juveniles taken into temporary custody by members of the Garden Grove Police
Department (34 USC § 11133).
Guidance regarding contacting juveniles at schools or who may be victims is provided in the Child
Abuse Policy.
312.1.1 DEFINITIONS
Definitions related to this policy include:
Juvenile non-offender - An abused, neglected, dependent, or alien juvenile who may be legally
held for the juvenile's own safety or welfare. This also includes any juvenile who may have initially
been contacted for an offense that would not subject an adult to arrest (e.g., fine-only offense)
but was taken into custody for the juvenile's protection or for purposes of reuniting the juvenile
with a parent, guardian, or other responsible person. Juveniles 11 years of age or younger are
considered juvenile non-offenders even if they have committed an offense that would subject an
adult to arrest.
Juvenile offender - A juvenile 12 to 17 years of age who is alleged to have committed an offense
that would subject an adult to arrest (a non-status offense) (Welfare and Institutions Code § 602).
It also includes an offense under Penal Code § 29610 for underage possession of a handgun or
concealable firearm (28 CFR 31.303).
Non-secure custody - When a juvenile is held in the presence of an officer or other custody
employee at all times and is not placed in a locked room, cell, or behind any locked doors. Juveniles
in non-secure custody may be handcuffed but not to a stationary or secure object. Personal
supervision, through direct visual monitoring and audio two-way communication is maintained.
Monitoring through electronic devices, such as video, does not replace direct visual observation
(Welfare and Institutions Code § 207.1; 15 CCR 1150).
Safety checks - Direct, visual observation personally by a member of this department performed
at random intervals within time frames prescribed in this policy to provide for the health and welfare
of juveniles in temporary custody.
Secure custody - When a juvenile offender is held in a locked room, a set of rooms, or a cell.
Secure custody also includes being physically secured to a stationary object (15 CCR 1146).
Examples of secure custody include:
(a)A juvenile left alone in an unlocked room within the secure perimeter of the adult
temporary holding area.
(b)A juvenile handcuffed to a rail.
Garden Grove Police Department
Policy Manual
Temporary Custody of Juveniles
Copyright Lexipol, LLC 2024/06/10, All Rights Reserved.
Published with permission by Garden Grove Police
DepartmentTemporary Custody of Juveniles - 2(c)A juvenile placed in a room that contains doors with delayed egress devices that have
a delay of more than 30 seconds.
(d)A juvenile being processed in a secure booking area when a non-secure booking area
is available.
(e)A juvenile left alone in a secure booking area after being photographed and
fingerprinted.
(f)A juvenile placed in a cell within the adult temporary holding area, whether or not the
cell door is locked.
(g)A juvenile placed in a room that is capable of being locked or contains a fixed object
designed for cuffing or restricting movement.
Sight and sound separation - Located or arranged to prevent physical, visual, or auditory contact
that is more than brief or inadvertent.
Status offender - A juvenile suspected of committing a criminal violation of the law that would
not be a criminal violation but for the age of the offender. Examples may include running away,
underage possession of tobacco, curfew violation, and truancy. A juvenile in custody on a
court order or warrant based upon a status offense is also a status offender. This includes the
habitually disobedient or truant juvenile under Welfare and Institutions Code § 601 and any juvenile
suspected of an offense that would not subject an adult to arrest (e.g., fine-only offense).
312.2 POLICY
The Garden Grove Police Department is committed to releasing juveniles from temporary custody
as soon as reasonably practicable and keeping juveniles safe while they are in temporary custody
at the Garden Grove Police Department. Juveniles should be held in temporary custody only for
as long as reasonably necessary for processing, transfer, or release.
312.3 JUVENILES WHO SHOULD NOT BE HELD
Juveniles who exhibit any of the following conditions should not be held at the Garden Grove
Police Department:
(a)Unconscious
(b)Seriously injured
(c)A known suicide risk or obviously severely emotionally disturbed
(d)Significantly intoxicated except when approved by the Division Lieutenant. A medical
clearance shall be obtained for minors who are under the influence of drugs, alcohol,
or any other intoxicating substance to the extent that they are unable to care for
themselves (15 CCR 1151).
(e)Extremely violent or continuously violent
Officers taking custody of a juvenile who exhibits any of the above conditions should take
reasonable steps to provide medical attention or mental health assistance and notify a supervisor
of the situation (15 CCR 1142; 15 CCR 1151).
Garden Grove Police Department
Policy Manual
Temporary Custody of Juveniles
Copyright Lexipol, LLC 2024/06/10,