Policy Text
Policy
432Garden Grove Police Department
Policy Manual
Copyright Lexipol, LLC 2022/05/24, All Rights Reserved.
Published with permission by Garden Grove Police
DepartmentConsular Notification - 1Consular Notification
432.1 PURPOSE AND SCOPE
To provide procedures for assuring compliance with all consular notifications and access
requirements in accordance with International Treaties and the provisions of California Penal Code
834c when dealing with foreign nationals.
432.1.1 REFERENCE
Article 30 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, (VCCR) operative as to the
United States on December 24, 1969, sets forth certain rights of foreign nationals from
member countries when arrested, detained or imprisoned by law enforcement officials in this
country. This section provides direction to officers when considering a physical arrest or
detention of a foreign national. All Foreign Service personnel shall be treated with respect
and courtesy, regardless of the level of established immunity. As noted herein, the United
States is a party to several bilateral agreements that obligate our authorities to notify the
consulateupontheperson'sdetention,regardlessofwhetherthedetainedperson(s) request that his or
her consulate be notified. The list of specific countries that the United States is obligated to notify
is listed in Table 1 (appendix) or the U.S. Department of State website.
432.2 POLICY
Every officer, upon arrest and booking or detention for more than two hours of a known or
suspected foreign national, shall advise the foreign national that he or she has a right to
communicate with an official from the consulate of his or her country, except as provided below.
Countries requiring mandatory notification under Article 36 of the Vienna Convention shall be
notified by officers as set forth in this section without regard to an arrested or detained foreign
national's request to the contrary.
432.3 FOREIGN NATIONALS
Foreign nationals are all non-U.S. citizens. This group of individuals includes those traveling or
living here in the country legally on green cards, visas, or passports, as well as those traveling
or living here in the country illegally.
Foreign nationals can have dual citizenship. If a foreign national is also a U.S. citizen, no
advisement is necessary. If a foreign national has dual citizenship between two other (non- U.S.)
countries, then upon his/her request, or in the case of mandatory reporting, both countries shall
be notified.
432.4 RELATED PROCEDURES
See CONSULAR NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES in the Garden Grove PD Procedures Manual.