Bill 1485

                    Current Status

Bill Number:               1485
Ratification Number:       700
Act Number                 571
Introducing Body:          Senate
Subject:                   Definitions; juvenile nonsecure custody
                           and records

(A571, R700, S1485)

AN ACT TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING SECTION 20-7-605 SO AS TO DEFINE "ADULT JAIL", "SECURE CONFINEMENT", AND "BOOKING", PROVIDE FOR THE CIRCUMSTANCES UNDER WHICH A JUVENILE MAY BE HELD IN NONSECURE CUSTODY, AND REQUIRE LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES TO MAINTAIN JUVENILE ADMISSION AND RELEASE RECORDS; TO AMEND SECTION 20-7-400, RELATING TO THE EXCLUSIVE ORIGINAL JURISDICTION IN THE FAMILY COURT, SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR THE JURISDICTION TO INCLUDE THE DETENTION OF A JUVENILE IN A JUVENILE DETENTION FACILITY; TO AMEND SECTION 20-7-600, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO TAKING A CHILD INTO CUSTODY, SO AS TO REVISE THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE TAKING, TRANSPORTATION, CONFINEMENT, DETENTION, PLACEMENT, AND RELEASE OF A CHILD; AND TO AMEND SECTION 20-7-3230, RELATING TO THE INSTITUTIONAL SERVICES PROVIDED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF YOUTH SERVICES, SO AS TO INCLUDE THE PROVISION OF JUVENILE DETENTION SERVICES.

Whereas, it is the policy of the State for preadjudication juvenile detention facilities to be regional facilities; and

Whereas, the State of South Carolina recognizes that this act provides for a temporary answer to the problem of juvenile confinement and that a permanent solution needs to be developed to aid the counties of the State in the provision of juvenile detention services; and

Whereas, this act provides for the South Carolina Department of Youth Services to temporarily provide for juvenile detention services until regional facilities are developed to serve this purpose. Now, therefore,

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

Definitions; juvenile nonsecure custody and records

SECTION 1. The 1976 Code is amended by adding:

"Section 20-7-605. (A) For purposes of Section 20-7-600, 'adult jail' or other place of detention for adults includes a state, county, or municipal police station, law enforcement lockup, or holding cell. 'Secure confinement' means an area having bars or other restraints designed to hold one person or a group of persons at a law enforcement location for any period of time and for any reason. Secure confinement in an adult jail or other place of detention does not include a room or a multipurpose area within the law enforcement center which is not secured by locks or other security devices. Rooms or areas of this type include lobbies, offices, and interrogation rooms. Juveniles held in these areas are considered to be in nonsecure custody as long as the room or area is not designed for, or intended for use as, a residential area, the juvenile is not handcuffed to a stationary object while in the room or area, and the juvenile is under continuous visual supervision by facility staff while in this room or area which is located within the law enforcement center.

(B) Juveniles may be held in nonsecure custody within the law enforcement center for only the time necessary for purposes of identification, investigation, detention, and intake screening, awaiting release to parents or other responsible adult, or awaiting transfer to a juvenile detention facility or to the court for a detention hearing.

(C) Secure confinement also does not include a room or area used by law enforcement for processing 'booking' purposes, irrespective of whether it is determined to be secure or nonsecure, as long as the juvenile's confinement in the area is limited to the time necessary to fingerprint, photograph, or otherwise 'book' the juvenile in accordance with state law.

(D) Law enforcement agencies shall maintain admission and release records on juveniles held in either secure or nonsecure custody, or both, which must include the times and dates of admission and release from secure and nonsecure custody and, if appropriate, the times and dates of transfer from one custody status to another."

Family court jurisdiction of a juvenile detention facility

SECTION 2. Section 20-7-400(A) is amended by adding:

"(4) For the detention of a juvenile in a juvenile detention facility who is charged with committing a criminal offense when detention in a secure facility is found to be necessary pursuant to the standards set forth in Section 20-7-600 and when the facility exists in, or is otherwise available to, the county in which the crime occurred."

Juvenile custody, detention, and release

SECTION 3. Section 20-7-600 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 644 of 1988, is further amended to read:

"Section 20-7-600. (A) When a child found violating a criminal 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 officer taking the child into custody 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, nonsecure facility, or program 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, but not later than twenty-four hours after the child is taken into custody. 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 respond within one hour to the location where the child is being detained. Upon responding, the authorized representative of the department 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 representatives of the department and must state:

(1) the facts of the offense;

(2) the reason why the child was not released to the parent.

Unless the child is to be detained, 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 to a juvenile detention facility in a police vehicle which also contains adults under arrest. No child may be placed in secure confinement or ordered detained by the court in secure confinement in an adult jail or other place of detention for adults for more than six hours. However, the prohibition against the secure confinement of juveniles in adult jails does not apply to juveniles who have been waived to the Court of General Sessions for the purpose of standing trial as an adult. Juveniles placed in secure confinement in an adult jail during this six-hour period must be confined in an area of the jail which is separated by sight and sound from adults similarly confined.

(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.

(E) When a child is to be transported to a juvenile detention facility following a detention screening review conducted by the Department of Youth Services or after a detention order has been issued by the court, the local law enforcement agency which originally took the child into custody shall transport this child to the juvenile detention facility.

(F) When the authorized representative of the Department of Youth Services determines that placement of a juvenile outside the home is necessary, he shall make a diligent effort to place the child in an approved home, program, or facility, other than a secure juvenile detention facility, when these alternatives are appropriate and available. A child is eligible for detention in a secure juvenile detention facility only if the child:

(1) is charged with a violent crime as defined in Section 16-1-60;

(2) is charged with a crime which, if committed by an adult, would be a felony other than a violent crime, and the child:

(a) is already detained or on probation or conditional release in connection with another delinquency proceeding;

(b) has a demonstrable recent record of wilful failures to appear at court proceedings;

(c) has a demonstrable recent record of violent conduct resulting in physical injury to others; or

(d) has a demonstrable recent record of adjudications for other felonies; and:

(i) there is clear and convincing evidence to establish a risk of flight, or serious harm to others; or

(ii) the instant offense involved the use of a firearm;

(3) is a fugitive from another jurisdiction;

(4) requests protection in writing under circumstances that present an immediate threat of serious physical injury.

A child who meets the criteria provided in this subsection is eligible for detention. Detention is not mandatory for a child meeting the criteria if that child can be supervised adequately at home or in a less secure setting or program.

(G) 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 or ordered detained in an adult detention facility. A child who is taken into custody because of a violation of the law which would not be a criminal offense under the laws of this State if committed by an adult must not be placed or ordered detained more than twenty-four hours in a juvenile detention facility, unless an order previously has been issued by the court, of which the child has notice and which notifies the child that further violation of the court's order may result in the secure detention of that child in a juvenile detention facility. If a juvenile is ordered detained for violating a valid court order, the juvenile may be held in secure confinement in a juvenile detention facility for not more than seventy-two hours, excluding weekends and holidays. However, nothing in this section precludes a law enforcement officer from taking a status offender in custody.

(H) 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 twenty-four hours from the time the child was taken into custody, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays. At this hearing, the authorized representative of the department shall submit to the court a report stating the facts surrounding the case and a recommendation as to the child's continued detention pending the adjudicatory and dispositional hearings. The court shall appoint counsel for the child if none is retained. No child may proceed without counsel in this hearing, unless the child waives the right to counsel, and then only after consulting at least once with an attorney. At the conclusion of this hearing, the court shall determine whether probable cause exists to justify the detention of the child as well as determining the appropriateness of, and need for, the child's continued detention. If continued detention of a juvenile is considered appropriate by the court and if a juvenile detention facility exists in that county which meets state and federal requirements for the secure detention of juveniles, or if that facility exists in another county with which the committing county has a contract for the secure detention of its juveniles, and if commitment of a juvenile by the court to that facility does not cause it to exceed its design and operational capacity, the family court shall order the detention of the juvenile in that facility. Periodic reviews of the detention order must be conducted in accordance with the rules of practice in a family court. However, a juvenile must not be detained in secure confinement in excess of ninety days. If the child does not qualify for detention or otherwise require continued detention under the terms of subsection (F), the child must be released to a parent, guardian, or other responsible person."

Juvenile detention services

SECTION 4. Section 20-7-3230 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"Section 20-7-3230. (A) The department shall provide institutional services the board assigns to it which include, but are not limited to:

(1) providing correctional institutional services for juveniles committed under the provisions of Part 3 of this subarticle;

(2) managing, operating, and supervising Birchwood, Willow Lane, John G. Richards, and other facilities as the board may establish;

(3) the establishment and maintenance of residential and nonresidential reception and evaluation centers at which all children committed to its custody by a circuit or family court must be received, examined, and evaluated before assignment to one of its institutions or before other disposition or recommendation is made concerning the child. The commitment of a child to a reception and evaluation center or youth correctional institution of the department may be made only after the child has been adjudicated delinquent. The evaluation conducted by the reception and evaluation centers includes, but is not limited to:

(a) a complete social, physical, psychological, and mental examination;

(b) an investigation and consideration of family and community environment and other facts in the background of the person concerned that might relate to his delinquency;

(c) a determination of the correctional or custodial care that would be most appropriate. The department shall create facilities and employ personnel as will enable the centers to conduct the necessary physical, mental, and psychological examinations required by this section;

(4) providing juvenile detention services for juveniles charged with having committed a criminal offense who are found, after a detention screening or detention hearing, to require detention or placement outside the home pending an adjudication of delinquency or dispositional hearing. Detention services provided by the department for the benefit of the counties of this State must include a secure juvenile detention center. However, this secure juvenile detention center shall cease to be operated as a preadjudicatory juvenile detention center two years after the facility becomes operational unless specifically renewed and reauthorized as a preadjudicatory juvenile detention center by the General Assembly. The size and capacity of this juvenile detention facility must be determined by the department after its consideration and review of recognized national standards for the design, construction, and operation of juvenile detention facilities. These recognized national standards must be met or exceeded by the department in determining the size and capacity of its juvenile detention center and in providing for the construction and operation of the facility. However, the size and capacity of this juvenile detention center may not exceed thirty beds. Upon completion of construction and upon the department's determination that the facility is staffed in accordance with existing standards and, therefore, can be operated in accordance with these standards, the department shall determine and announce the maximum operational capacity of the facility. Before September 2, 1990, the department shall determine and announce the anticipated maximum operational capacity of this facility and shall contact each county governmental body in this State for the purpose of determining which counties anticipate utilizing this facility upon the facility becoming operational. The department shall inform each county governmental body of the existing state and federal laws regarding the confinement of juveniles charged with committing criminal offenses, of each county's ability to develop its own facility or to contract with other counties for the development of a regional facility, of the availability of this facility, and of the per diem and transportation requirements set forth in this section if this facility is to be used by the county. This notice must be provided to each county for the purpose of determining which county governmental bodies desire to enter into an intergovernmental agreement with the department for the detention of juveniles from their particular county who are charged with committing a criminal offense for which pretrial detention is both authorized and appropriate. A juvenile must not be ordered detained by the court in this juvenile detention center nor may the department accept a juvenile into this facility if his detention causes the department to exceed the announced operational capacity. A juvenile ordered detained in this facility must be screened within twenty-four hours by a social worker or, if considered appropriate, by a psychologist, in order to determine whether the juvenile is emotionally disturbed, mentally ill, or otherwise in need of services. The department shall determine an amount of per diem for each child detained in this center, which must be paid by the committing county. The per diem paid by the county may not exceed the daily average cost of a juvenile committed to the department and must be placed in a separate account by the department for operation of this facility.

(B) The reception and evaluation center located in Columbia is designated 'The William J. Goldsmith Reception and Evaluation Center'."

Time effective

SECTION 5. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor, except Sections 1 and 3 which take effect January 1, 1992.

Approved the 12th day of June, 1990.