When it is necessary to detain a juvenile at Eastlake, Los Padrinos, or San Fernando Valley (Sylmar) juvenile facility’s, the juvenile shall be transported as soon as possible.
Note: the six hour detention limit is not applicable at the Catalina Island facility (Avalon Station); however, juveniles shall be processed in an expeditious manner and those juveniles not released to a parent, guardian, or responsible relative, shall be transported on the first available Sheriff's transportation to an appropriate juvenile facility.
All requests for transportation of juveniles shall be sent via JDIC to Court Services Transportation Bureau, and shall include:
NOTE: When transportation cannot be arranged within a reasonable time, it shall be the responsibility of the station to transport the juvenile to a juvenile facility.
To expedite the juvenile's transfer to a juvenile facility, Court Services Transportation Bureau shall transport juveniles to a juvenile facility on the day shift in addition to the current transportation runs on late evening and early morning shifts.
The following guidelines shall be strictly adhered to:
Female deputies should be utilized in transporting female juveniles in compliance with Department procedure with the exception that the watch commander or the station Detective Commander may, for good cause, authorize other transportation during the course of an investigation.
A juvenile may be handcuffed at the discretion of the deputy, who shall take into consideration the need for security, circumstances of arrest, and age of the juvenile. Juveniles should not be handcuffed or chained to adult inmates. It shall be the responsibility of the transporting deputy to segregate juveniles from adult inmates.
Deputy personnel who must transport juveniles under the age of eight years must transport said juvenile in a properly installed child passenger restraint system (child safety seat). In order for a child passenger restraint system to be installed properly, it must be firmly secured to a cushioned vehicle seat.
Child passenger restraint systems CANNOT be properly installed to a plastic vehicle seat, as found in most Department patrol units. Additionally, it is inherently dangerous for a child seated in a child safety seat to be placed directly in front of an air bag device. Air bags inflate at an extremely rapid rate and have caused serious injury to children seated in child safety seats.
Department personnel shall not place child safety seats in the rear of a patrol unit with hard plastic seats. Additionally, personnel shall not place child safety seats in the front passenger side of a vehicle where an air bag is present.
Deputy personnel who must transport juveniles in a child passenger restraint system and cannot do so in their assigned patrol unit shall request another patrol unit where child passenger restraint systems can be used (cushioned rear seats, no passenger air bag). If another patrol unit cannot be located in which it is safe to place a child passenger restraint system, deputy personnel shall attempt to locate a vehicle at the station and have station personnel respond with a solid color sedan, which have cushioned back seats.
If deputy personnel cannot locate a solid color sedan from their assigned station, the station desk shall be notified. Desk personnel shall attempt to locate either a patrol unit suitable for the use of child passenger restraint systems or a solid color sedan from another Department station.
If a suitable vehicle is located, desk personnel shall contact the other station watch commander and request approval for the use of the vehicle.