Chapter 1.16 — CRIMINAL ENFORCEMENT OF PERRIS MUNICIPAL CODE AND ORDINANCE

VIOLATIONS[3]

State Law reference— Cities authorized to impose fines up to $500.00 or imprisonment up to six months, or both, Government Code § 16901.

The provisions of this chapter shall apply to all ordinances of the city.

(Code 1972, § 1.16.001; Ord. No. 680, § 2(part), 1987; Ord. No. 1034, § 5(part), 1996)

(a)

No person shall violate any provisions, or fail to comply with any of the requirements of this Code. Unless a different penalty is prescribed for violation of a specific provision of this Code, every act prohibited or declared unlawful and every failure to perform an act made mandatory by this Code is punishable as a misdemeanor. Each person shall be deemed guilty of a separate offense for each and every day during any portion of which any violation of any provision of this Code is committed, continued or permitted by such person and shall be punishable accordingly.

(Code 1972, § 1.16.005; Ord. No. 680, § 2(part), 1987; Ord. No. 1034, § 5(part), 1996; Ord. No. 1394, § 2, 10-27-2020)

(a)

Except in cases where a different punishment is specifically prescribed elsewhere in this Code, every misdemeanor offense is punishable by imprisonment in the city or county jail for a period not exceeding six months, or by fine not exceeding $1,000.00, or by both, provided that where the city attorney determines that such action would be in the interests of justice, the city attorney may specify in the accusatory pleading that the offense shall be an infraction.

(b)

Except as otherwise prescribed elsewhere in this Code, every offense specifically declared to be an infraction is punishable by a fine not exceeding $100.00 for a first violation, a fine not exceeding $200.00 for a second violation of the same provision within one year, and a fine not exceeding $500.00 for each additional violation of the same provision within one year. An infraction is not punishable by imprisonment. A person charged with an infraction shall not be entitled to a trial by jury and shall not be entitled to have the public defender or other counsel appointed at public expense to represent him unless he is arrested and not released on his written promise to appear, his own recognizance or a deposit of bail. However, any

person who has previously been convicted two or more times during any 12-month period for any crime made punishable as an infraction shall be guilty of a misdemeanor upon the third violation.

(c)

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a violation of local building and safety codes determined to be an infraction is punishable by:

(1)

A fine not exceeding $100.00 for a first violation;

(2)

A fine not exceeding $500.00 for a second violation of the same ordinance within one year;

(3)

A fine not exceeding $1,000.00 for each additional violation of the same ordinance within one year of the first violation.

(Code 1972, § 1.16.010; Ord. No. 680, § 2(part), 1987; Ord. No. 1034, § 5(part), 1996)

(a)

The city council shall designate by resolution the city officials who shall have the authority to issue citations within the city for violations of this Code.

(b)

Each city official of the city so designated by resolution is authorized by the city council, pursuant to sections 832, 836.5 and 19.7 of the California Penal Code and subject to the provisions thereof, to arrest a person without warrant whenever the city official has reasonable cause to believe that the person to be arrested has either violated a provision of this Code in his presence or fails to correct a violation and therefore has committed an infraction which the city official has the discretionary duty to enforce.

(c)

Each city official as set forth by resolution is further authorized by the city council to issue a notice to appear in court, pursuant to sections 853.5 and 853.6 of the California Penal Code. Under no circumstances may the city official take the person to be arrested into custody. In the event that the person to be arrested demands to be taken before the magistrate or refuses to provide his written promise to appear in court, the city official must either summon a law enforcement officer to arrest the person and take the person into custody, or seek the assistance of the city attorney, and request that an infraction complaint be prepared and filed against that person.

(d)

In addition to the mandatory course of training prescribed by the commission of peace officers standards pursuant to section 832 of the California Penal Code, the planning and community development department shall establish and cause to be administered a special enforcement training program designed to instruct the city officials as designated by resolution regarding provisions of this Code to be enforced, the evidentiary prerequisites to proper prosecution for violations thereof, the appropriate procedures for making arrest and citation authority, the limitations attendant thereto. Each city official authorized to issue citations shall be appropriately instructed to file executed citations within the planning department and shall send one copy of each executed citation to the chief of police and one copy to the court.

(Code 1972, § 1.16.020; Ord. No. 680, § 2(part), 1987; Ord. No. 911, § 1, 1992; Ord. No. 1034, § 5(part), 1996)

Whenever any person is arrested for any violation of this Code, not declared to be a felony, the arrested person shall be taken without unnecessary delay before a magistrate within the county in which the offense charged is alleged to have been committed, and which has jurisdiction of the offense, and is nearest or most accessible with reference to the place where the arrest is made in any of the following cases:

(1)

When the person arrested fails to present satisfactory evidence of his identity for examination;

(2)

When the person arrested refuses to furnish written promise to appear in court;

(3)

When the person arrested demands an immediate appearance before a magistrate.

(Code 1972, § 1.16.030; Ord. No. 680, § 2(part), 1987; Ord. No. 1034, § 5(part), 1996)