Juveniles held in temporary custody at a Sheriff's station shall not be securely detained without the watch commander's signed approval and unless they meet the following criteria per Section 207.1(d) WIC:
- The juvenile is 14 years of age or older
- Facts or circumstances exist that would lead a prudent peace officer to conclude that further criminal activity against persons or self-destructive acts on the part of the juvenile are likely, or that the juvenile may be at risk of harm
- A brief time (no more than six hours) is required to investigate the case, facilitate release of the juvenile to a parent, guardian, or responsible relative, or arrange for the transfer of the juvenile to an appropriate juvenile facility
CONDITIONS OF SECURE DETENTION
The following are conditions of secure detention of juveniles in law enforcement facilities:
- The juvenile must meet the following prerequisites:
- Be 14 years of age or older
- Be in custody under authority Section 602 WIC
- Present a serious security risk of harm to self and/or others.
- Factors considered when determining if the juvenile presents a serious security risk to self and/or others are:
- Age, maturity and delinquent history
- Severity of offense for which taken into custody
- Juvenile's behavior; availability of staff to provide adequate supervision or protection of the juvenile; and, age, type, and number of other individuals detained at the facility
- The juvenile shall be informed at the time he/she is securely detained of the following:
- The reason for the secure detention
- The anticipated length of the secure detention
- The secure detention shall not exceed six hours after his/her arrival at the facility
- Juveniles held in secure detention outside of a locked enclosure shall not be secured to a stationary object for more than 30 minutes unless no other locked enclosure is available. Securing juveniles to a stationary object for longer than 30 minutes thereafter, shall be approved by the watch commander and the reasons for the continued detention shall be documented
- Juveniles who are secured to a stationary object shall be moved to a locked enclosure when one becomes available. Personnel (station jail personnel) must be present at all times to assure the juvenile's safety while secured to a stationary object
- Juveniles held in secure detention within a locked enclosure shall have constant auditory access to station jail personnel
- Juveniles held in secure detention within a locked enclosure shall be visually checked periodically, no less than every 30 minutes, by a station jail personnel who shall document the check. Reasons for continued secure detention need to be documented on the secure detention log. Additional electronic monitoring may be used to supplement, but not replace personal observation
- If an adult inmate, including an inmate worker, is present with the juvenile in the same room or area, staff of the jail facility trained in the supervision of inmates shall maintain a constant, side-by-side presence with either the juvenile or adult inmate, to ensure there is no communication between the juvenile and adult inmate. Situations in which a juvenile and an adult inmate may be in the same room or passageway shall be limited to the following:
- During booking
- During medical screening
- Inmate worker presence while performing work necessary for the operation of the jail facility, such as meal service and janitorial service
- Movement of inmates within the law enforcement facility
- Locked enclosure must meet all applicable health and fire requirements
- Locked enclosure must have seats (chairs or benches), have temperature control and ventilation, and lighting appropriate to the time of day and activity.
SECURE DETENTION LOG
Each station shall maintain a “Secure Detention of Juveniles Log” in the e-Gatebook which shall contain the following information:
- The offense which is the basis for the secure detention
- The watch commander's approval and written explanation for the secured detention
- The length of time the juvenile was securely detained
- The time the secure detention began and advisement to juvenile
- The time the secure detention ended.