Policy Text
Departmental Memorandum
Volume 24-19
To: All Police Katherine Lester , Chief of Police
From : Captain James Harrington, Support Services Division
Paper Citations (No Longer Allowed) Update
11-19-2024
The purpose of this departmental memorandum is to provide an update to the usage of paper notice s to
appear (citations). This memorandum expires upon publication of General Order 523.04 (Notice to Appear
[Citations]), last revised on 05 -30-2017.
In 2024, the Judicial Council of California enacted recommendations to citations to improve understanding of
cited persons, remove redundant fields, and standardize officer -recorded information.
To reflect the new requirements, the Sustainment Team updated the department’s electronic citations and
produced Roll Call Training Bulletin 134 (E -Cite Update) to ensure officers utilize the updated format.
Due to this , any existing paper citations do not comply with the updated notice to appear requirements and
shall no longer be used to issue notices to appear. The department does not intend to procure additional paper
citations since it requires additional work to co mply with the Carol Miller Justice Center’s electronic -citation
submission requirements.
Officers without electronic citation access should request the assistance of an officer with a department issued
smartphone to issue an electronic notice to appear. Officers should be aware of possible 4th amendment
violations associated with lengthy delays in issuing a notice to appear to a detained subject. Officers should
consider submitting a warrant request if waiting to issue a notice to appear would be unreasonable.