South Carolina General Assembly
107th Session, 1987-1988

Bill 3779


                    Current Status

Bill Number:               3779
Ratification Number:       753
Act Number                 644
Introducing Body:          House
Subject:                   Relating to taking a child into
                           custody
View additional legislative information at the LPITS web site.


(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

(A644, R753, H3779)

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 20-7-600, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO TAKING A CHILD INTO CUSTODY, SO AS TO CHANGE THE REFERENCES TO THE DEPARTMENT OF JUVENILE PLACEMENT AND AFTERCARE TO THE DEPARTMENT OF YOUTH SERVICES AND THE REFERENCE TO FELONY TO VIOLENT CRIME.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

References changed

SECTION 1. Section 20-7-600 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"Section 20-7-600. (a) When a child found violating any law or ordinance, or whose surroundings are such as to endanger his welfare, is taken into custody the taking into custody is not an arrest. The jurisdiction of the court attaches from the time of the taking into custody. When a child is so taken into custody, the officers shall notify the parent, guardian, or custodian of the child as soon as possible. Unless otherwise ordered by the court, the person taking the child into custody may release the child to a parent, a responsible adult, a responsible agent of a court-approved foster home, group home, facility, or program separate from any secure facility upon the written promise, signed by the person, to bring the child to the court at a stated time or at a time the court may direct. The written promise, accompanied by a written report by the officer, must be submitted to the South Carolina Department of Youth Services as soon as possible. If the person fails to produce the child as agreed, or upon notice from the court, a summons or a warrant may be issued for the apprehension of the person or of the child.

(b) When a child is not released pursuant to subsection (a), the officer taking the child into custody immediately shall notify the authorized representative of the Department of Youth Services, who shall review the facts in the officer's report or petition and any other relevant facts and determine if there is a need for detention of the child. The officer's written report must be furnished to the authorized representative of the department within twenty-four hours from the time the child was taken into custody, and the report must state: (1) the facts of the offense; and (2) the reason why the child was not released to the parent. Unless detention is necessary for the protection of the community or to serve the best interest of the child, the child must be released by the authorized representative of the department to the custody of his parents or other responsible adult upon their written promise to bring the child to the court at a stated time or at a time the court may direct. However, if the offense for which the child was taken into custody is a violent crime as defined in Section 16-1-60 the child may be released only by the authorized representative of the department with the consent of the officer who took the child into custody.

(c) No child may be transported in any police vehicle which also contains adults under arrest. No child at any time may be placed in a jail or other place of detention for adults but must be placed in a room or ward entirely separate from adults.

(d) Peace officers' records of children must be kept separate from records of adults, must not be open to public inspection, and may be open to inspection only by governmental agencies authorized by the judge.

When the authorized representative of the Department of Youth Services determines that detention is necessary, he shall make a diligent effort to place the child in an approved home, facility, or program separate from any secure facility, when these alternatives are appropriate and available. The department shall provide to the court a list of appropriate facilities to be utilized for placement. When the department determines that a secure facility is necessary, a child may be detained only in a facility which has sight and sound separation from adults. The department shall develop specific written criteria to use in determining: (1) whether detention is necessary for the protection of the community to insure an orderly court process or to serve the best interest of the child; and (2) whether a secure or nonsecure facility is appropriate for detention of the child. The department shall provide the court and law enforcement agencies with a copy of the criteria. The department also shall evaluate these criteria using accepted research methods.

After January 1, 1982, a child who is taken into custody because of a violation of law which would not be a criminal offense under the laws of this State if committed by an adult must not be placed in a detention facility.

If the authorized representative of the Department of Youth Services has not released the child to the custody of his parents or other responsible adult, the court shall hold a detention hearing within forty-eight hours from the time the child was taken into custody, excluding Sundays and holidays, in accordance with rules of practice in a family court. At this hearing, the authorized representative of the department shall submit to the court a written report stating the facts surrounding the case and a recommendation as to the child's continued detention pending the adjudicatory and dispositional hearings."

Time effective

SECTION 2. This act takes effect January 1, 1989.