Senate Bill No. 340
(By Senators Kessler, Prezioso, Minard and White)
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[Introduced February 24, 2009; referred to the Committee on the
Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §49-5-15 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to granting juvenile probation
officers the power to arrest juveniles under their
supervision.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §49-5-15 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 5. JUVENILE PROCEEDINGS.
§49-5-15. Juvenile probation officers; appointment; salary;
facilities; expenses; duties; powers.
(a) (1) Each circuit court, subject to the approval of the
Supreme Court of Appeals and in accordance with the rules of the
Supreme Court of Appeals, shall appoint one or more juvenile
probation officers and clerical assistants for the circuit. A
probation officer or clerical assistant may not be related by blood or marriage to the appointing judge.
(2) The salary for juvenile probation officers and clerical
assistants shall be determined and fixed by the Supreme Court of
Appeals. All expenses and costs incurred by the juvenile probation
officers and their staff shall be paid by the Supreme Court of
Appeals in accordance with its rules. The county commission of
each county shall provide adequate office facilities for juvenile
probation officers and their staff. All equipment and supplies
required by juvenile probation officers and their staff shall be
provided by the Supreme Court of Appeals.
(3) A juvenile probation officer may not be considered a
law-enforcement official under any provision of this chapter:
Provided, That a juvenile probation officer may, with or without an
order or warrant, arrest any juvenile under his or her supervision.
(b) The clerk of a court shall notify, if practicable, the
chief probation officer of the county, or his or her designee, when
a juvenile is brought before the court or judge for proceedings
under this article. When notified, or if the probation officer
otherwise obtains knowledge of such fact, he or she or one of his
or her assistants shall:
(1) Make investigation of the case; and
(2) Furnish information and assistance that the court or judge
may require.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to grant juvenile probation
officers the power to arrest juveniles under their supervision.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.