What's happening
This bill requires police to notify parents or guardians when youth under age 19 are arrested or issued appearance tickets, with exceptions for safety.
Why it matters
Expands parental notification requirements. so police must inform parents or guardians not only when minors (under 18) are arrested, but also for 18-year-olds, increasing family awareness and involvement for all youth under 19 in the justice system.
Adds safety exceptions. allowing police to withhold notification to parents or guardians if doing so would endanger the youth’s health or safety—balancing family involvement with youth protection in sensitive or dangerous situations.
Establishes alternative procedures for youth release. If a parent or guardian can't be reached, police must make reasonable efforts to release the youth to another adult family member or unrelated adult over 25, or provide a ride home if needed, reducing risks of youth being left without safe supervision after arrest.
Expands protections and services for sexually exploited youth. by raising the age from under 18 to under 19 for access to supportive shelters and services, reflecting a recognition that exploitation can affect older teens and ensuring they have access to help.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Notify Parents of Youth Arrests
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
3 Co-sponsors
History
- Referred to codes
- Referred to codes
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Notify Parents of Youth Arrests
In Assembly Committee · Codes · Sponsor Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn
Full text
5 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
733
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE (Prefiled)
January 9, 2019
Introduced by Sens. MONTGOMERY, COMRIE, KRUEGER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Codes
AN ACT to amend the criminal procedure law and the social services law, in relation to ensuring that parents and guardians of youth up to age
19 are notified when their child is arrested or issued an appearance ticket
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "family notification and protection act".
§ 2. Subdivision 7 of section 120.90 of the criminal procedure law, as amended by section 16 of part WWW of chapter 59 of the laws of 2017, is amended to read as follows:
7. (a) Upon arresting a juvenile offender [or], adolescent offender, or youth as defined in subdivision one of section 720.10 of this chapter, the police officer shall immediately notify the parent or other person legally responsible for his or her care or the person with whom he or she is domiciled, that the juvenile offender, or adolescent offender, or youth has been arrested, and the location of the facility where he or she is being detained, provided that the police officer need not notify the parent or other person legally responsible for such youth's care or the person with whom he or she is domiciled when such youth is not also a juvenile offender and the notification of a parent or other person would endanger the health or safety of such youth.
(b)(i) After making every reasonable effort to give notice to the parent, or other person legally responsible for his or her care or the person with whom he or she is domiciled, the officer shall issue and serve an appearance ticket upon the arrested person and release him or
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03440-01-9
S. 733 2
her to the custody of an adult family member or an unrelated adult age twenty-five or over; or
(ii) After making every reasonable effort to locate an adult family member or an unrelated adult age twenty-five or over, if there is no one to whom the officer can release the arrested person, the officer shall release the arrested person upon issuance of an appearance ticket and provide the arrested person with a ride in an official police vehicle to his or her place of residence, at the request of the arrested person, without unnecessary delay. The officer must inform the youth that he or she may request a ride home; or
(iii) If the arrested person is less than nineteen years old, the officer may take the youth, if it appears that such youth is a sexually exploited child as defined in paragraph (a), (b), (c) or (d) of subdivision one of section four hundred forty-seven-a of the social services law, to an available short-term safe house, but only if the youth consents to be taken.
§ 3. Subdivisions 1, 2 and 6 of section 140.20 of the criminal procedure law, subdivision 1 as amended by chapter 549 of the laws of 1987, paragraphs (a) and (b) of subdivision 1 as amended by chapter 324 of the laws of 1988, paragraph (c) of subdivision 1 as separately amended by chapter 382 of the laws of 1987, paragraph (d) of subdivision 1 as amended and paragraph (e) as added by chapter 492 of the laws of 2016, subdivision 2 as amended by chapter 550 of the laws of 1987 and subdivision 6 as amended by section 20 of part WWW of chapter 59 of the laws of 2017, are amended to read as follows:
1. Upon arresting a person without a warrant, a police officer, after performing without unnecessary delay all recording, fingerprinting and other preliminary police duties required in the particular case, must except as otherwise provided in this section, without unnecessary delay bring the arrested person or cause him to be brought before a local criminal court and file therewith an appropriate accusatory instrument charging him with the offense or offenses in question. The arrested person must be brought to the particular local criminal court, or to one of them if there be more than one, designated in section 100.55 of this title as an appropriate court for commencement of the particular action; except that:
(a) If the arrest is for an offense other than a class A, B, C or D felony or a violation of section 130.25, 130.40, 205.10, 205.17, 205.19 or 215.56 of the penal law committed in a town, but not in a village thereof having a village court, and the town court of such town is not available at the time, the arrested person may be brought before the local criminal court of any village within such town or, any adjoining town, village embraced in whole or in part by such adjoining town, or city of the same county; and
(b) If the arrest is for an offense other than a class A, B, C or D felony or a violation of section 130.25, 130.40, 205.10, 205.17, 205.19 or 215.56 of the penal law committed in a village having a village court and such court is not available at the time, the arrested person may be brought before the town court of the town embracing such village or any other village court within such town, or, if such town or village court is not available either, before the local criminal court of any adjoining town, village embraced in whole or in part by such adjoining town, or city of the same county; and
(c) If the arrest is for an offense committed in a city, and the city court thereof is not available at the time, the arrested person may be brought before the local criminal court of any adjoining town or
S. 733 3
village, or village court embraced by an adjoining town, within the same county as such city; and
(d) If the arrest is for a traffic infraction or for a misdemeanor relating to traffic, the police officer may, instead of bringing the arrested person before the local criminal court of the political subdivision or locality in which the offense was allegedly committed, bring him or her before the local criminal court of the same county nearest available by highway travel to the point of arrest; and
(e) If the arrested person is at least sixteen years old and less than nineteen years old, and if the arrest is for a non-violent class B, C, or D felony (except 125.12, 263.05, 263.10, 263.15, 263.30, or 470.23) or a violation of section 130.25, 130.40, 205.10, 205.17, 205.19 or 215.56 of the penal law, and the local criminal court is not available:
(i) the officer shall release the arrested person to the custody of his or her parents, or other person legally responsible for his or her care, or the person with whom he or she is domiciled upon the issuance of an appearance ticket provided that the officer need not notify the parent or other person legally responsible for the arrested person's care or the person with whom he or she is domiciled when the notification of a parent or other person would endanger the health or safety of the arrested person; or
(ii) after making every reasonable effort to give notice to the parent, or other person legally responsible for his or her care or the person with whom he or she is domiciled, the officer shall issue and serve an appearance ticket upon the arrested person and release him or her to the custody of an adult family member or an unrelated adult age twenty-five or over; or
(iii) after making every reasonable effort to locate an adult family member or an unrelated adult age twenty-five or over, if there is no one to whom the officer can release the arrested person, the officer shall release the arrested person upon issuance of an appearance ticket and provide the arrested person with a ride in an official police vehicle to his or her place of residence, at the request of the arrested person, without unnecessary delay. The officer must inform the youth that he or she may request a ride home; and
(f) If the arrested person is less than nineteen years old, the officer may take the youth, if it appears that such youth is a sexually exploited child as defined in paragraph (a), (b), (c) or (d) of subdivision one of section four hundred forty-seven-a of the social services law, to an available short-term safe house, but only if the youth consents to be taken; and
(g) If the arrested person is at least sixteen years old and less than nineteen years old and if the arrest is for an offense other than a class A, B, C or D felony or a violation of section 130.25, 130.40, 205.10, 205.17, 205.19 or 215.56 of the penal law, the officer shall issue and serve an appearance ticket, as prescribed in subdivision four of section 150.20 and release him or her from custody, as prescribed in paragraph (e) of this subdivision; and
[(e)] (h) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, where a local criminal court in the county in which the defendant is arrested is operating an off-hours arraignment part designated in accordance with paragraph (w) of subdivision one of section two hundred twelve of the judiciary law at the time of defendant's arrest, the arrested person may be brought before such local criminal court.
2. If the arrest is for an offense other than a class A, B, C or D felony or a violation of section 130.25, 130.40, 205.10, 205.17, 205.19
S. 733 4
or 215.56 of the penal law, the arrested person need not be brought before a local criminal court as provided in subdivision one of this section, and the procedure may instead be as follows:
(a) A police officer may issue and serve an appearance ticket upon the arrested person and release him from custody, as prescribed in subdivision two of section 150.20 of this title; or
(b) The desk officer in charge at a police station, county jail or police headquarters, or any of his superior officers, may, in such place fix pre-arraignment bail and, upon deposit thereof, issue and serve an appearance ticket upon the arrested person and release him from custody, as prescribed in section 150.30 of this title.
If the arrested person is older than sixteen years old but less than nineteen years old, the officer shall follow the procedure as prescribed in paragraph (h) of subdivision one of this section.
6. Upon arresting a juvenile offender [or], a person sixteen or commencing October first, two thousand nineteen, seventeen years of age, or youth as defined in subdivision one of section 720.10 of this chapter without a warrant, the police officer shall immediately notify the parent or other person legally responsible for his or her care or the person with whom he or she is domiciled, that such offender or person has been arrested, and the location of the facility where he or she is being detained, provided that the police officer need not notify the parent or other person legally responsible for such youth's care or the person with whom he or she is domiciled when such youth is not also a juvenile offender and the notification of a parent or other person would endanger the health or safety of such youth, however the police officer must make every reasonable effort to contact an adult family member or an unrelated adult over the age of twenty-five as prescribed in paragraph (f) of subdivision one of this section. If the officer determines that it is necessary to question a juvenile offender, youth, or such person, the officer must take him or her to a facility designated by the chief administrator of the courts as a suitable place for the questioning of children or, upon the consent of a parent or other person legally responsible for the care of the juvenile or such person, to his or her residence and there question him or her for a reasonable period of time. A juvenile or such person shall not be questioned pursuant to this section unless he or she and a person required to be notified pursuant to this subdivision, if present, have been advised:
(a) of the juvenile offender's, youth, or such person's right to remain silent;
(b) that the statements made by him or her may be used in a court of law;
(c) of his or her right to have an attorney present at such questioning; and
(d) of his or her right to have an attorney provided for him or her without charge if he or she is unable to afford counsel.
In determining the suitability of questioning and determining the reasonable period of time for questioning such a juvenile offender, youth, or person, his or her age, the presence or absence of his or her parents or other persons legally responsible for his or her care and notification pursuant to this subdivision shall be included among relevant considerations.
§ 4. Section 150.20 of the criminal procedure law is amended by adding a new subdivision 4 to read as follows:
4. Upon issuing to and serving an appearance ticket as defined in subdivision one of section 150.10 of this article upon a youth as
S. 733 5
defined in subdivision one of section 720.10 of this chapter, the police officer shall notify the parent or other person legally responsible for his or her care or the person with whom he or she is domiciled or some other adult as provided for in paragraph (f) of subdivision one of section 140.20 of this chapter, that such youth has been served with an appearance ticket, the time set forth in such appearance ticket for the youth's appearance before a criminal court and the offense of which he or she is charged, provided that the police officer need not notify the parent or other person legally responsible for such youth's care or the person with whom he or she is domiciled when such youth is not also a juvenile offender and the notification of a parent or other person would endanger the health or safety of such youth.
§ 5. Subdivisions 1 and 2 of section 447-a of the social services law, subdivision 1 as amended by chapter 189 of the laws of 2018, subdivision 2 as amended by section 8 of part M of chapter 56 of the laws of 2017, are amended to read as follows:
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the criminal procedure law and the social services law, in relation to ensuring that parents and guardians of youth up to age 19 are notified when their child is arrested or issued an appearance ticket
Purpose
In the event a juvenile offender or adolescent offender, or youth is arrested or issued an appearance ticket, this legislation seeks to ensure that parents are notified of such an occurrence and their child's whereabouts, unless doing so would endanger the child. The bill also proposes other measures to ensure that arrested youth are safe, and that a parent and/or another responsible adult is involved in the overall arrest and resolution process.
Summary of provisions
Sections 2, 3, and 4 amend various sections of the criminal procedure law. These sections require that when a youth that is at least sixteen but younger than nineteen is arrested and/or issued an appearance tick- et, the police officer who has arrested the youth to immediately notify a parent, or other person legally responsible for the youth, that he or she has been arrested and the location of where the youth is being detained. This requirement is waived if the arrested person is a juve- nile offender or if contacting a parent or guardian would endanger the youth.
Read the full memo (910 words)
If a parent or other person legally responsible for the youth cannot be contacted, the police officer must issue an appearance ticket and release the youth to an adult family member or unrelated adult who is at least twenty-five years old. If there is no available person to whom the youth can be released, the police officer must release the youth with an appearance ticket and inform him or her that he or she may request a ride home, or if it appears that the youth is a "sexually exploited child," he or she can be driven to a "short-term safe house."
Additionally, section 3 requires that an officer must issue an appear- ance ticket and release the youth in the same manner described above if: (1) he or she has been arrested for a non-violent class B, C, or D felo- ny, and the local criminal court is unavailable, or (2) the arrest is for something other than an A, B, C, or D felony or other specified offenses. Section 5 amends subdivisions 1 and 2 of section 447-a of the social services law by expanding the definition of "sexually exploited child" to include any person under the age of nineteen. A "sexually exploited child," as defined in subdivision one of section 447-a of the social services law, is a child under the age of nineteen who has been subject to sexual exploitation either because he or she (1) is the victim of sex trafficking, (2) engages in prostitution, (3) is a victim of the crime compelling prostitution, or (4) engages in any acts under article 263 of the penal code that includes the use of a child in, or the promotion or possession of, a child in a sexual performance; or in any acts under section 240.37 of the penal law, loitering for the purpose of engaging in a prostitution offense. Currently, the social services law allows such a child to be brought to a "short-term safe house" following an arrest. This legislation would include persons under the age of nineteen in order to allow eighteen year-olds to have access to the "short-term safe house" as well.
Justification
New York is one of only two states in our nation to set the age of crim- inal responsibility at sixteen. For certain crimes, a child as young as thirteen could be adjudicated as an adult as well.
This means that childhood decisions will have a devastating effect on the lives of many young men and women. As a beacon of progressive think- ing on most other issues, New York must be on par with the rest of the nation and raise the age of criminal responsibility.
However, in the meantime, New York must at least take a step in the right direction. Currently, since teens age sixteen and up are consid- ered adults in the eyes of the law, their parents are not notified upon arrest. Although the arrested person has a right to make a phone call, there is no guarantee that they will contact their parents. This leaves many parents worried when their child does not return home.
This bill would require for a police officer to notify the parents when a teenager is arrested or issued an appearance ticket, unless doing so would put the teen in danger. Furthermore, if the parent or legal guard- ian is unavailable, the police officer is required to contact another adult; if no adult is available, the officer must give the teen a ride home upon request. In the case of a "sexually exploited child," the officer may give the teen a ride to a "short-term safe house" instead of to their home.
This legislation is important as it protects our children and will give peace of mind to parents. New York must take this first step on the long road toward raising the age of criminal responsibility.
Legislative history
2013-2014; Referred and died in the Committee on Codes.
Fiscal implications
To be determined.
Effective date
This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeeding the date on which it shall have become a law.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.