8-102 - Juvenile Terms and Definitions

Amber Alert Program: Utilizes the State’s Emergency Alert System (EAS) and Minnesota Crime Alert Network (MNCAN). It allows law enforcement agencies to collaborate with local broadcasters through the use of an early-warning system to alert the public when a child is in danger.

Community Based First Response (First Response): First Response social workers are available 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. First Response handles emergency shelter placements, telephone assessments of families in crisis and takes child & adult protection reports.

Family Violence Unit - Child Abuse Section: The Family Violence Child Abuse Section investigates cases involving adult or juvenile suspects for crimes of child abuse, physical or sexual abuse, child endangerment, neglect, deprivation of parental rights and parental kidnapping. The unit also reviews HLTWEL and juvenile CIC reports.

Juvenile: An individual who is under the age of eighteen (18) years.

Juvenile Criminal Apprehension Team (JCAT): A component of the Juvenile Unit that focuses on apprehending wanted juveniles.

Juvenile Detention Center (JDC): Located at 510 Park Avenue in downtown Minneapolis.

Juvenile Diversion: A program coordinated through the Juvenile Unit, which provides diversion/options for first time juvenile offenders.

Juvenile Miranda: Each component of the Miranda Warning is understood and acknowledged by the juvenile. The investigator must be confident that the juvenile understands each of the components.

Juvenile Supervision Center (JSC): JSC receives juveniles ages 10-17, who have been detained for curfew, truancy and other offenses which do not meet JDC booking criteria and whose parent/legal guardian is unable to be located. JSC is located in Room 21A, City Hall.

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.

The Link: The Link provides intervention services and community outreach at the JSC.

Low-level Offender: A juvenile arrested for a non-status offense that does not meet JDC booking criteria

Medical Neglect: Medical neglect is the failure to provide appropriate health care for a child, thus placing the child at risk for serious disability, disfigurement or death. Concern is warranted not only when a parent/legal guardian refuses medical care for a child in an emergency or for an acute illness, but also when a parent/legal guardian ignores medical recommendations for a child with a treatable chronic disease or disability, resulting in frequent hospitalizations or significant deterioration.

Minnesota Crime Alert Network (MNCAN): A statewide communications network that enables law enforcement agencies to quickly alert the public about crime or criminals that may affect them.

NCIC: National Crime Information Center.

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).

Runaway: An unmarried child under the age of 18 years who is absent from the home of a parent or guardian or other lawful placement without the consent of the parent, guardian, or lawful custodian.

Scales Interview: Audio recording of a custodial interview.

School Resource Officer (SRO): SRO’s are assigned to Minneapolis Public Schools and work together with school administrators, students, the Juvenile Unit, and the community to ensure school safety and security.

Status Offender: A juvenile status offender is a juvenile who is taken into police custody for an offense that would not be a crime if committed by an adult. This includes: truancy, curfew violations, runaway and underage possession or consumption of tobacco and alcohol products.

 

Definitions

Refer to the Commonly Used Terms page for general definitions.

• 40mm Round: A direct fire impact projectile round used in situations where maximum deliverable kinetic energy is desired for the incapacitation of a person.
• Amber Alert: Utilizes the State's Emergency Alert System (EAS) and Minnesota Crime Alert Network (MNCAN). It allows law enforcement agencies to collaborate with local broadcasters through the use of an early-warning system to alert the public when a child is in danger.
• CIC: CIC is the code, which stands for "Crisis Intervention Call," used on a Police Report for situations involving a transport hold, and when a Police Report is completed in other situations involving a person in crisis.
• Confidential Informant:

  A person who cooperates with a law enforcement agency confidentially in order to protect the person or the MPD’s intelligence gathering or investigative efforts, and:

  1. Seeks to:
     1. Avoid arrest or prosecution for a crime; or
     2. Mitigate punishment for a crime in which a sentence will be or has been imposed; or
     3. Receive a monetary or other benefit;
  2. Is able, by reason of the person’s familiarity or close association with suspected criminals, to:
     1. Make a controlled buy or controlled sale of contraband, controlled substance, or other items that are material to a criminal investigation;
     2. Supply regular or constant information about suspected or actual criminal activities to a law enforcement agency;
     3. Otherwise provide information important to ongoing criminal intelligence gathering or criminal investigative efforts.
• Crisis: An event or situation where a person's safety and health may be threatened by behavioral health challenges, to include mental health conditions, intellectual or developmental disabilities, substance use, or overwhelming stressors. A crisis can involve a person's perception or experience of an event or situation as an intolerable difficulty that exceeds the person's current resources and coping mechanisms and may include unusual stress in their life that renders the person unable to function as they normally would.
• Family Violence Unit - Child Abuse Section: The Family Violence Child Abuse Section investigates cases involving adult or juvenile suspects for crimes of child abuse, physical or sexual abuse, child endangerment, neglect, deprivation of parental rights and parental kidnapping. The unit also reviews HLTWEL and juvenile CIC reports
• First Response: First Response (Community Based First Response) social workers are available 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. First Response handles emergency shelter placements, telephone assessments of families in crisis and takes child & adult protection reports.
• Investigation: A structured process of gathering, examining, and evaluating facts and evidence to determine what occurred, assess compliance with laws and policies, and support appropriate actions or decisions.
• Investigators: All persons from the MPD Homicide unit and Internal Affairs unit who are conducting an investigation of the Critical Incident, unless other Criminal Investigating and Administrative Investigating Entities have been designated by the Chief of Police or their designee.
• Juvenile: An individual who is under the age of eighteen (18) years.
• Juvenile Miranda: Each component of the Miranda Warning is understood and acknowledged by the juvenile. The investigator must be confident that the juvenile understands each of the components.
• 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.
• Medical Neglect: Medical neglect is the failure to provide appropriate health care for a child, thus placing the child at risk for serious disability, disfigurement or death. Concern is warranted not only when a parent/legal guardian refuses medical care for a child in an emergency or for an acute illness, but also when a parent/legal guardian ignores medical recommendations for a child with a treatable chronic disease or disability, resulting in frequent hospitalizations or significant deterioration.
• National Crime Information Center: The National Crime Information Center database helps criminal justice professionals apprehend fugitives, locate missing persons, recover stolen property, and identify terrorists. It also assists law enforcement officers in performing their official duties more safely and provides them with information necessary to aid in protecting the general public.
• 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).
• Runaway: An unmarried child under the age of 18 years who is absent from the home of a parent or guardian or other lawful placement without the consent of the parent, guardian, or lawful custodian.
• Scales Interview: Audio recording of a custodial interview.
• School Resource Officer: SRO's are assigned to Minneapolis Public Schools and work together with school administrators, students, the Juvenile Unit, and the community to ensure school safety and security.