Visalia Municipal Code Ch. 1.08 Arrest and Citation Procedure

A. If any person is arrested for a violation of any provisions of this code and such person is not immediately taken before a magistrate as is more fully set forth in the Penal Code of the state of California, the arresting officer shall prepare in duplicate a written notice to appear in court, containing the name and address of such person, the offense charged, and the time and place where and when such person shall appear in court.

B. The time specified in the notice to appear must be at least ten days after such arrest. The place specified in the notice to appear shall be either:

1. Before the judge of the justice or a municipal court judge within the city of Visalia;

2. Before an officer authorized by the county of Tulare, city of Visalia, or the city and county, to receive a deposit of bail.

C. The officer shall deliver one copy of the notice to appear to the arrested person and the arrested person in order to secure release must give his written promise to appear in the court by signing the duplicate notice which shall be retained by the officer. Thereupon, the arresting officer shall forthwith release the person arrested from custody.

D. 1. The officer shall, as soon as practicable, file the duplicate notice with the magistrate specified therein. Thereupon, the magistrate shall fix the amount of bail which in his judgment, in accordance with the provisions of Section 1275 of the Penal Code, will be reasonable and sufficient for the appearance of the defendant and shall endorse upon the notice a statement signed by him in the form set forth in Section 815a of the Penal Code. The defendant may, prior to the date upon which he promised to appear in court, deposit with the magistrate the amount of bail thus set. Thereafter, at the time when the cases called for arraignment before the magistrate, if the defendant shall not appear, either in person or by counsel, the magistrate may declare the bail forfeited, and may in his discretion order that no further proceedings shall be had in such case.

2. Upon the making of such order that no further proceedings be had, all sums deposited as bail shall forthwith be paid into the County Treasury for distribution pursuant to Section 1463 of the Penal Code.

E. No warrant shall issue on such charge for the arrest of a person who has given such written promise to appear in court, unless and until he has violated such promise or has failed to deposit bail, to appear for arraignment, trial or judgment, or to comply with the terms and provisions of the judgment, as required by law. (Ord. 9605 § 3, 1996: prior code § 107)

Any person, willfully violating his written promise to appear in court is guilty of a misdemeanor regardless of the disposition of the charge upon which he was originally arrested. (prior code § 108)

A. When a person signs a written promise to appear at the time and place specified in the written promise to appear and has not posted bail as provided in Section 853.1 of the Penal Code, the magistrate shall issue and have delivered for execution a warrant for his arrest within twenty (20) days after his failure to appear as promised, or if such person promises to appear before an officer authorized to accept bail other than a magistrate and fails to do so on or before the date which he promised to appear, then, within twenty (20) days after the delivery of such written promise to appear by the officer to a magistrate having jurisdiction over the offense.

B. When such person violates his promise to appear before an officer authorized to receive bail other than a magistrate, the officer shall immediately deliver to the magistrate having jurisdiction over the offense charged the written promise to appear and the complaint, if any, filed by the arresting officer. (Prior code § 109)

The police chief and all peace officers employed by the police department are empowered to enforce, and are charged with the duty of enforcing, any and all provisions of this code or of any other ordinance of the city, including the power to arrest for such violations in accordance with the laws of the state of California, together with such other powers as are conferred upon them by the city. The police chief may authorize employees of the police department, excepting clerks, stenographers and others whose duties do not fall within the scope of law enforcement services, to enforce any and all provisions of the statutes of the state of California, of this code, or of any other ordinance of the city where the violation of such provision or provisions would constitute an infraction or misdemeanor, including the power to cite for such violations in accordance with the laws of the state of California. The chief of police may also authorize said employees to regulate traffic at the scenes of accidents or disasters or at such locations as may require traffic direction for orderly traffic flow, and to remove vehicles from highways, public property, and private property, when authorized by state law or local ordinance. (Ord. 2000-16 § 1 (part), 2000)

A. Citation Officer. When in this code, or in any other ordinance of the city, an officer or employee of the city is empowered to enforce, or charged with the duty of enforcing, any particular provision or provisions of this code or of any other ordinance of the city, the violation of which provision or provisions would constitute a misdemeanor or infraction, the officer or employee so empowered, or so charged with such duty, shall have the authority to arrest without warrant and to issue criminal citations as set forth in this section for the purpose of enforcing this code. Such public officer shall be deemed a citation officer and shall have all the powers and protection, as conferred pursuant to California Penal Code Section 836.5 on public officers.

B. Training Requirements. Before any such officer or employee may exercise criminal citation authority pursuant to this section, that officer or employee must complete an enforcement training program established at the direction of the chief of the Visalia police department. The training program shall be designed to instruct officers and employees regarding:

1. The provisions of this code to be enforced;

2. The evidentiary prerequisites to proper prosecution for violations thereof;

3. The procedural requirements of citations, including completion of forms, processing and amendment of citation forms; and

4. The limitations attendant thereto.

C. Enforcement/Peace Officer. A peace officer is defined in Title 3, Chapter 4, Sections 830, et seq. of the California Penal Code. A peace officer is not permitted to carry a firearm. Enforcement officers of the city are not peace officers, other than those hired and trained by the Visalia police department, but may exercise the powers of arrest of a peace officer as specified in Penal Code Section 836 during the course and within the scope of their employment if they receive a training course in the exercise of those powers as prescribed by the Commission on Peace Officers Standards and Training as outlined in Penal Code Section 832.

D. Citation Authority. Officers and employees who have completed the prerequisite training prescribed by subsection B or C of this section have the authority to issue administrative notice and orders, and criminal citations for both misdemeanors and infractions, as authorized by the city manager or his or her designee or the responsible department head or his or her designee.

E. Delegation. An officer or employee designated in subsection D of this section has the authority to appoint employees to assist in the enforcement responsibilities. Such employees shall likewise have the authority to issue criminal citations or administrative notice and orders following the written confirmation by the city manager or his or her designee or the responsible department head or his or her designee of the appointment of such employees by the officers and employees designated in subsection D of this section and upon completion of the training required by subsection B or C of this section.

F. Notice to Appear. Citation officers vested with criminal citation authority pursuant to this section, may, pursuant to Sections 836.5, 853.5 and 853.6 of the California Penal Code, issue a citation in the form of a notice to appear to a person where any such citation officer has reasonable cause to believe that the person to be issued the citation has violated a provision of this code in the citation officer's presence, which the citation officer had the discretionary duty to enforce, and therefore, has committed a misdemeanor or infraction.

G. Release on Written Promise to Appear. A citation officer exercising the authority pursuant to this section may release the person to be issued a citation on his or her written promise to appear in court. The citation officer shall under no circumstances take the person to be issued a citation into custody.

H. Refusal to Sign. In the event that the person to be issued a citation refuses to provide his or her written promise to appear in court, a citation officer may summon a Visalia city police officer and request that such police officer take the person into custody. If the person demands to be taken before a magistrate, the citation officer may summon a Visalia city police officer and request that such police officer take the person into custody, or seek assistance of the city attorney and request that a complaint be prepared and filed against that person.

I. Filing and Maintenance Files. Citation officers having a duty to enforce the provisions of this code, and who exercise the authority to issue a citation pursuant to this section, shall maintain a file of executed citations issued under subsection F of this section and such citations shall be forwarded to the city attorney's office for issuance of a complaint and filing with the appropriate magistrate.

J. Issuance as Infraction. Notwithstanding that a violation of a provision of this code which a citation officer has a duty to enforce is declared to be a misdemeanor, the citation officer may, pursuant to Section 1.12.010(A) and (B), issue the citation as an infraction.

K. Additional Authority. Nothing in this section shall be considered to limit any authority otherwise vested in the named officers and employees, provided elsewhere in this code, or by state law. (Ord. 2000-16 § 1 (part), 2000)

Whenever a duty, right, power, privilege, or immunity is granted to, or imposed upon a city officer or employee, the duty may be performed, or the right, power, privilege, or immunity exercised by any subordinate or aide to the officer or employee who has been so charged by the officer or employee, or when the obligations of the position of the subordinate or aide charge him with performing the duty or charge him with exercising or entitle him to exercise the right, power, privilege, or immunity. (Ord. 2000-16 § 1 (part), 2000)