8-307 - Juvenile Traffic Offense

Policy

When a juvenile is charged with a petty misdemeanor or misdemeanor traffic offense, officers shall issue a Uniform Citation. The court copy of the citation shall be placed in a “Traffic Violations” box and the other citation copies shall be distributed as indicated.

Juvenile traffic offender(s) properly identified at the scene of a traffic stop may be issued a citation and released.

If a juvenile traffic offender is unable to be identified officers may transport the suspect to the Juvenile Unit (during office hours) or contact the Crime Lab via telephone (when the Juvenile Unit is closed) to receive assistance with the identification. The juvenile shall be released to a parent/legal guardian or taken to the Juvenile Supervision Center.

• Juvenile: An individual who is under the age of eighteen (18) years.
• Juvenile Unit: MPD Juvenile Unit primarily investigates Robbery, Assault, Domestic Assault and Missing Person cases in which the offender is at least 10 years old and under 18 years of age. Cases involving juvenile offenders less than 10 years of age will be investigated by the Juvenile Unit and referred to an appropriate agency for follow up. The Juvenile Unit also investigates school-related crimes. The Juvenile Unit provides identification and processing services, as well as short-term detention for arrested juveniles. During the hours of Juvenile Unit operation, juveniles arrested for any felony, gross misdemeanor or domestic assault shall be brought to the unit for processing. Staffing and workload permitting, Juvenile Unit investigators will transport juveniles to the appropriate destination after intake is completed. The Juvenile Unit maintains all Runaway and Missing Juvenile files and serves as the central repository for juvenile criminal history records. The Juvenile Unit also provides investigative support to other units with on-going investigations involving juvenile suspects.
• Limited English Proficiency: Designates individuals whose primary language is not English and who have a limited ability to read, write, speak, or understand English. LEP individuals may be competent in certain types of communication (e.g. speaking or understanding), but still be LEP for other purposes (e.g. reading or writing). Similarly, LEP designations are context specific. An individual may possess sufficient English language skills to function in one setting, but may find these skills are insufficient in other situations.
• Parent/Legal Guardian: "Parent" means the birth or adoptive mother or father of a child and does not apply to a person whose parental rights have been terminated in relation to the child. A legal "guardian" is a person who has been appointed by a judge or social services agency, to take care of a minor child (to include foster parents).