Policy Text
University of California, San Francisco
Police Department General Orders
4.9 Juvenile Operations: Organization and Administration
4.9.6 Issuance of Citations in Lieu of Custody (Issued: 6/25/07)
A. Alternatives to Arrest
Officers dealing with juvenile offenders shall use the least coercive among reasonable
alternatives.
1. Outright Release with No Further Action
a. Based on the judgment of the officer in consultation with the Watch
Commander, a juvenile may be released in the field without further formal
action. The best interests of the minor and the community shall be
considered.
b. Documentation of such release shall be made within a written incident
report.
2. Criteria and Procedures for Issuing Written Cita tions or Summonses to Juvenile
Offenders to Appear, in Lieu of Taking Them into Custody
a. Juveniles arrested for infractions and low -grade misdemeanors should be
released them to their parent, guardian or responsible relative in the field,
unless circumst ances indicate that it would be in the best interest of the
minor and/or the public for him or her to be detained or if such release
would be otherwise unlawful or inappropriate.
b. If a minor is detained for a non -traffic infraction or low -grade (non -
violent) misdemeanor, the arresting officer may, upon approval of a
supervisor, release the minor to their parent, guardian or responsible
relative in the field. If the detention is for a W&I Code 602 offense, the
officer will issue a citation for release and complete a crime report for the
offense committed.
c. Those juveniles arrested for the following charges shall be detained until a
responsible adult can respond to accept custody:
(1) CVC 23152(a), CVC 23152(b), CVC 23153(a) and CVC 23153(b)
(2) Health an d Safety (H&S) Code 11550
(3) PC 647(f).
d. If the detention is for a 601 W&I Code 601 status offense, (i.e., runaway,
truancy or curfew) and the minor is going to be released in the field to a
parent, guardian or responsible party, the officer shall write the
appropriate report and document the incident.
e. Citations
All juvenile violators of specified sections, as listed in the examples
below, should be released with a traffic citation with “Traffic Court at 575
Polk Street, Department #3” checked.
(1) The California Penal Code
PC 308(b) – Minor in possession of tobacco
University of California, San Francisco
Police Department General Orders
PC 374.3, 374.4 – Littering
PC 490.5 – Petty Theft under $50.00
PC 502(c)(6),(7), (8) – Computer Access
PC 594(a)(1) – Vandalism with liquid/paint
PC 602(m) – Drive on private property
PC 602.8 – Enter fenced property w/o permission
PC 640 – Bus fare evasion, disturbance
PC 640.5 – Graffiti public vehicle ($250 or less)
PC 640.6 – Graffiti private property ($250 or less)
At the discretion of the officer when the offense is at level of
infraction:
PC 330 – Illicit gaming, dice, cards
PC 415 – Disturbing the peace
PC 485 – Keeping lost property
PC 555 – Trespass posted property
PC 853.7 – Violate written promise to appear
(2) Business and Professions (BP) Code
BP Code 25658 – Minor consuming alcohol
BP Code 25668.5 – Minor attempt to purchase
BP Code 25661 – Use or possess false ID
BP Code 25662 – Minor possessing alcohol
(3) Health and Safety Code
H&S Code 11357(b) – Possession less than 1 oz. of marijuana.
B. To acc elerate the handling of delinquency cases and to deliver a clearer message to
arrested youth and their families that an arrest is a serious matter and has immediate
consequences, the following procedures shall be followed:
1. City and County of San Francisco resident juveniles shall be cited to appear at the
City and County of San Francisco Juvenile Court. The chosen appearance date
shall be at least seven to fourteen days, but not more than three weeks, from the
date of arrest/custody. In conjunctio n with the issuance of a citation, the arresting
officer will give the juvenile written instructions regarding their appearance at the
City and County of San Francisco Juvenile Court.
2. Officers shall use the standard, uniform citation form, mark the box “Juvenile”
and fill out the appearance date section as indicated above.
3. In “Cite and Release” cases, two reports must be delivered to 850 Bryant Street;
one report goes to Investigations, and one must be faxed or dropped off at the
YGC within 24 hours of arrest.
University of California, San Francisco
Police Department General Orders
4. In misdemeanor bookings, two reports must be delivered to 850 Bryant Street;
one report goes to Investigations, and the report must be faxed or dropped off at
the YGC within 24 hours of arrest.
5. In felony bookings, two reports (per arrestee ) must be delivered to 850 Bryant
Street; three reports (per arrestee) go to Investigations and the report must be
faxed or dropped off at the YGC within 24 hours of arrest. Reports must list the