Relates to the issuance of arrest warrants and appearance tickets upon a youth; provides for the police officer to immediately notify the parent or other person legally responsible for the care of such youth with whom the youth is domiciled that the youth has been arrested; provides further that the police officer need not notify the parent or other person legally responsible when such youth is not also a juvenile offender and the notification would endanger the health and safety of such youth; amends provisions relating to sexually exploited children to include persons under the age of nineteen.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A7497
SPONSOR: Bichotte Hermelyn 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 teenager is arrested or issued an appearance ticket, this
legislation seeks to ensure that parents are notified of such an occur-
rence 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.
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 nor-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 nine-
teen 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 thinking 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 considered 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 chil-
dren 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 responsi-
bility.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2019-2020: A8801; referred to codes
2017-2018: A7062; referred to codes
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.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
7497
2021-2022 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
May 11, 2021
___________
Introduced by M. of A. BICHOTTE HERMELYN -- read once and referred 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 Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "family
2 notification and protection act".
3 § 2. Subdivision 7 of section 120.90 of the criminal procedure law, as
4 amended by section 16 of part WWW of chapter 59 of the laws of 2017, is
5 amended to read as follows:
6 7. (a) Upon arresting a juvenile offender [or], adolescent offender,
7 or youth as defined in subdivision one of section 720.10 of this
8 chapter, the police officer shall immediately notify the parent or other
9 person legally responsible for his or her care or the person with whom
10 he or she is domiciled, that the juvenile offender, or adolescent offen-
11 der, or youth has been arrested, and the location of the facility where
12 he or she is being detained, provided that the police officer need not
13 notify the parent or other person legally responsible for such youth's
14 care or the person with whom he or she is domiciled when such youth is
15 not also a juvenile offender and the notification of a parent or other
16 person would endanger the health or safety of such youth.
17 (b)(i) After making every reasonable effort to give notice to the
18 parent, or other person legally responsible for his or her care or the
19 person with whom he or she is domiciled, the officer shall issue and
20 serve an appearance ticket upon the arrested person and release him or
21 her to the custody of an adult family member or an unrelated adult age
22 twenty-five or over; or
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD08214-01-1
A. 7497 2
1 (ii) After making every reasonable effort to locate an adult family
2 member or an unrelated adult age twenty-five or over, if there is no one
3 to whom the officer can release the arrested person, the officer shall
4 release the arrested person upon issuance of an appearance ticket and
5 provide the arrested person with a ride in an official police vehicle to
6 his or her place of residence, at the request of the arrested person,
7 without unnecessary delay. The officer must inform the youth that he or
8 she may request a ride home; or
9 (iii) If the arrested person is less than nineteen years old, the
10 officer may take the youth, if it appears that such youth is a sexually
11 exploited child as defined in paragraph (a), (b), (c) or (d) of subdivi-
12 sion one of section four hundred forty-seven-a of the social services
13 law, to an available short-term safe house, but only if the youth
14 consents to be taken.
15 § 3. Subdivisions 1, 2 and 6 of section 140.20 of the criminal proce-
16 dure law, subdivision 1 as amended by chapter 549 of the laws of 1987,
17 paragraphs (a) and (b) of subdivision 1 as amended by chapter 324 of the
18 laws of 1988, paragraph (c) of subdivision 1 as separately amended by
19 chapter 382 of the laws of 1987, paragraph (d) of subdivision 1 as
20 amended and paragraph (e) as added by chapter 492 of the laws of 2016,
21 subdivision 2 as amended by chapter 550 of the laws of 1987 and subdivi-
22 sion 6 as amended by section 20 of part WWW of chapter 59 of the laws of
23 2017, are amended to read as follows:
24 1. Upon arresting a person without a warrant, a police officer, after
25 performing without unnecessary delay all recording, fingerprinting and
26 other preliminary police duties required in the particular case, must
27 except as otherwise provided in this section, without unnecessary delay
28 bring the arrested person or cause him to be brought before a local
29 criminal court and file therewith an appropriate accusatory instrument
30 charging him with the offense or offenses in question. The arrested
31 person must be brought to the particular local criminal court, or to one
32 of them if there be more than one, designated in section 100.55 of this
33 title as an appropriate court for commencement of the particular action;
34 except that:
35 (a) If the arrest is for an offense other than a class A, B, C or D
36 felony or a violation of section 130.25, 130.40, 205.10, 205.17, 205.19
37 or 215.56 of the penal law committed in a town, but not in a village
38 thereof having a village court, and the town court of such town is not
39 available at the time, the arrested person may be brought before the
40 local criminal court of any village within such town or, any adjoining
41 town, village embraced in whole or in part by such adjoining town, or
42 city of the same county; and
43 (b) If the arrest is for an offense other than a class A, B, C or D
44 felony or a violation of section 130.25, 130.40, 205.10, 205.17, 205.19
45 or 215.56 of the penal law committed in a village having a village court
46 and such court is not available at the time, the arrested person may be
47 brought before the town court of the town embracing such village or any
48 other village court within such town, or, if such town or village court
49 is not available either, before the local criminal court of any adjoin-
50 ing town, village embraced in whole or in part by such adjoining town,
51 or city of the same county; and
52 (c) If the arrest is for an offense committed in a city, and the city
53 court thereof is not available at the time, the arrested person may be
54 brought before the local criminal court of any adjoining town or
55 village, or village court embraced by an adjoining town, within the same
56 county as such city; and
A. 7497 3
1 (d) If the arrest is for a traffic infraction or for a misdemeanor
2 relating to traffic, the police officer may, instead of bringing the
3 arrested person before the local criminal court of the political subdi-
4 vision or locality in which the offense was allegedly committed, bring
5 him or her before the local criminal court of the same county nearest
6 available by highway travel to the point of arrest; and
7 (e) If the arrested person is at least sixteen years old and less than
8 nineteen years old, and if the arrest is for a non-violent class B, C,
9 or D felony (except 125.12, 263.05, 263.10, 263.15, 263.30, or 470.23)
10 or a violation of section 130.25, 130.40, 205.10, 205.17, 205.19 or
11 215.56 of the penal law, and the local criminal court is not available:
12 (i) the officer shall release the arrested person to the custody of
13 his or her parents, or other person legally responsible for his or her
14 care, or the person with whom he or she is domiciled upon the issuance
15 of an appearance ticket provided that the officer need not notify the
16 parent or other person legally responsible for the arrested person's
17 care or the person with whom he or she is domiciled when the notifica-
18 tion of a parent or other person would endanger the health or safety of
19 the arrested person; or
20 (ii) after making every reasonable effort to give notice to the
21 parent, or other person legally responsible for his or her care or the
22 person with whom he or she is domiciled, the officer shall issue and
23 serve an appearance ticket upon the arrested person and release him or
24 her to the custody of an adult family member or an unrelated adult age
25 twenty-five or over; or
26 (iii) after making every reasonable effort to locate an adult family
27 member or an unrelated adult age twenty-five or over, if there is no one
28 to whom the officer can release the arrested person, the officer shall
29 release the arrested person upon issuance of an appearance ticket and
30 provide the arrested person with a ride in an official police vehicle to
31 his or her place of residence, at the request of the arrested person,
32 without unnecessary delay. The officer must inform the youth that he or
33 she may request a ride home; and
34 (f) If the arrested person is less than nineteen years old, the offi-
35 cer may take the youth, if it appears that such youth is a sexually
36 exploited child as defined in paragraph (a), (b), (c) or (d) of subdivi-
37 sion one of section four hundred forty-seven-a of the social services
38 law, to an available short-term safe house, but only if the youth
39 consents to be taken; and
40 (g) If the arrested person is at least sixteen years old and less than
41 nineteen years old and if the arrest is for an offense other than a
42 class A, B, C or D felony or a violation of section 130.25, 130.40,
43 205.10, 205.17, 205.19 or 215.56 of the penal law, the officer shall
44 issue and serve an appearance ticket, as prescribed in subdivision four
45 of section 150.20 and release him or her from custody, as prescribed in
46 paragraph (e) of this subdivision; and
47 [(e)] (h) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, where a
48 local criminal court in the county in which the defendant is arrested is
49 operating an off-hours arraignment part designated in accordance with
50 paragraph (w) of subdivision one of section two hundred twelve of the
51 judiciary law at the time of defendant's arrest, the arrested person may
52 be brought before such local criminal court.
53 2. If the arrest is for an offense other than a class A, B, C or D
54 felony or a violation of section 130.25, 130.40, 205.10, 205.17, 205.19
55 or 215.56 of the penal law, the arrested person need not be brought
A. 7497 4
1 before a local criminal court as provided in subdivision one of this
2 section, and the procedure may instead be as follows:
3 (a) A police officer may issue and serve an appearance ticket upon the
4 arrested person and release him from custody, as prescribed in subdivi-
5 sion two of section 150.20 of this title; or
6 (b) The desk officer in charge at a police station, county jail or
7 police headquarters, or any of his superior officers, may, in such place
8 fix pre-arraignment bail and, upon deposit thereof, issue and serve an
9 appearance ticket upon the arrested person and release him from custody,
10 as prescribed in section 150.30 of this title.
11 If the arrested person is older than sixteen years old but less than
12 nineteen years old, the officer shall follow the procedure as prescribed
13 in paragraph (h) of subdivision one of this section.
14 6. Upon arresting a juvenile offender [or], a person sixteen or
15 commencing October first, two thousand nineteen, seventeen years of age,
16 or youth as defined in subdivision one of section 720.10 of this chapter
17 without a warrant, the police officer shall immediately notify the
18 parent or other person legally responsible for his or her care or the
19 person with whom he or she is domiciled, that such offender or person
20 has been arrested, and the location of the facility where he or she is
21 being detained, provided that the police officer need not notify the
22 parent or other person legally responsible for such youth's care or the
23 person with whom he or she is domiciled when such youth is not also a
24 juvenile offender and the notification of a parent or other person would
25 endanger the health or safety of such youth, however the police officer
26 must make every reasonable effort to contact an adult family member or
27 an unrelated adult over the age of twenty-five as prescribed in para-
28 graph (f) of subdivision one of this section. If the officer determines
29 that it is necessary to question a juvenile offender, youth, or such
30 person, the officer must take him or her to a facility designated by the
31 chief administrator of the courts as a suitable place for the question-
32 ing of children or, upon the consent of a parent or other person legally
33 responsible for the care of the juvenile or such person, to his or her
34 residence and there question him or her for a reasonable period of time.
35 A juvenile or such person shall not be questioned pursuant to this
36 section unless he or she and a person required to be notified pursuant
37 to this subdivision, if present, have been advised:
38 (a) of the juvenile offender's, youth, or such person's right to
39 remain silent;
40 (b) that the statements made by him or her may be used in a court of
41 law;
42 (c) of his or her right to have an attorney present at such question-
43 ing; and
44 (d) of his or her right to have an attorney provided for him or her
45 without charge if he or she is unable to afford counsel.
46 In determining the suitability of questioning and determining the
47 reasonable period of time for questioning such a juvenile offender,
48 youth, or person, his or her age, the presence or absence of his or her
49 parents or other persons legally responsible for his or her care and
50 notification pursuant to this subdivision shall be included among rele-
51 vant considerations.
52 § 4. Section 150.20 of the criminal procedure law is amended by adding
53 a new subdivision 4 to read as follows:
54 4. Upon issuing to and serving an appearance ticket as defined in
55 subdivision one of section 150.10 of this article upon a youth as
56 defined in subdivision one of section 720.10 of this chapter, the police
A. 7497 5
1 officer shall notify the parent or other person legally responsible for
2 his or her care or the person with whom he or she is domiciled or some
3 other adult as provided for in paragraph (f) of subdivision one of
4 section 140.20 of this chapter, that such youth has been served with an
5 appearance ticket, the time set forth in such appearance ticket for the
6 youth's appearance before a criminal court and the offense of which he
7 or she is charged, provided that the police officer need not notify the
8 parent or other person legally responsible for such youth's care or the
9 person with whom he or she is domiciled when such youth is not also a
10 juvenile offender and the notification of a parent or other person would
11 endanger the health or safety of such youth.
12 § 5. Subdivisions 1 and 2 of section 447-a of the social services law,
13 subdivision 1 as amended by chapter 189 of the laws of 2018, subdivision
14 2 as amended by section 8 of part M of chapter 56 of the laws of 2017,
15 are amended to read as follows:
16 1. The term "sexually exploited child" means any person under the age
17 of [eighteen] nineteen who has been subject to sexual exploitation
18 because he or she:
19 (a) is the victim of the crime of sex trafficking as defined in
20 section 230.34 of the penal law or the crime of sex trafficking of a
21 child as defined in section 230.34-a of the penal law;
22 (b) engages in any act as defined in section 230.00 of the penal law;
23 (c) is a victim of the crime of compelling prostitution as defined in
24 section 230.33 of the penal law;
25 (d) engages in acts or conduct described in article two hundred
26 sixty-three or section 240.37 of the penal law.
27 2. The term "short-term safe house" means a residential facility oper-
28 ated by an authorized agency as defined in subdivision ten of section
29 three hundred seventy-one of this article including a residential facil-
30 ity operating as part of a runaway and homeless youth crisis services
31 program as defined in subdivision four of section five hundred thirty-
32 two-a of the executive law or a not-for-profit agency with experience in
33 providing services to sexually exploited youth and approved in accord-
34 ance with the regulations of the office of children and family services
35 that provides emergency shelter, services and care to sexually exploited
36 children including food, shelter, clothing, medical care, counseling and
37 appropriate crisis intervention services at the time they are taken into
38 custody by law enforcement and for the duration of any legal proceeding
39 or proceedings in which they are either the complaining witness or the
40 subject child. The short-term safe house shall also be available at the
41 point in time that a child under the age of [eighteen] nineteen has
42 first come into the custody of juvenile detention officials, law
43 enforcement, local jails or the local commissioner of social services or
44 is residing with the local runaway and homeless youth authority.
45 § 6. This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeed-
46 ing the date on which it shall have become a law.
