January 26, 2005 The Fulton County Juvenile Court, Traffic Division has expressed concern that officers are not properly filling out traffic tickets that are written to juvenile offenders. It has been determined that most tickets submitted that are written to juveniles are written in violation of APD.SOP.3190 “Juvenile Procedures”, Sections 4.6.4 and 4.7.2

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  NUMBER: A.P.D. T.M. R.C.T.05.02      EFFECTIVE DATE:  1-26-05

 

SUBJECT: Traffic Citation Update / Accident Report Update

 

DISTRIBUTION:      All Sworn Employees             

 

APPROVAL  AUTHORITY  TITLE :      Academy Director

 

SIGNATURE: Lt. M.A. Perdue               DATE:   1-26-05
     
 

A.                Opening Statement

 

The Fulton County Juvenile Court, Traffic Division has expressed concern that officers are not properly filling out traffic tickets that are written to juvenile offenders.

 

It has been determined that most tickets submitted that are written to juveniles are written in violation of APD.SOP.3190 “Juvenile Procedures”, Sections 4.6.4 and 4.7.2

 

The Atlanta Police Department must ensure that Standard Operating Procedure is in compliance with State laws and CALEA (Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies) Standards. While CALEA does not specify how juvenile traffic cases are handled it does insist that we follow the procedures we have set forth in or written directives.

 

Pending the incorporation into the applicable SOP, all involved personnel will adhere to the following procedures.

 

B.                BODY

 

1.         There are two types of Georgia driver’s licenses  applicable to this procedure-

            the Class P and Class D  license.

 

NOTE: All drivers under the age of 21 will be issued licenses with red ink.  These license are easily identifiable by the “Georgia” printed in red and a red border around the picture of the driver.

 

 

2.         If a young driver is stopped and the license is printed with red ink, pay particular attention to the age of the driver and complete the traffic ticket according to APD.SOP.3190 “Juvenile Procedures”.

 

3.         APD.SOP.3190 “Juvenile Procedures”, sections 4.6.4 and 4.7.2 are outlined

below. The courts concern is that officers be aware that any person charged with a traffic offense and is 16 years of age or younger not be given a City or State traffic court date.  Instead of a traffic court date the officer will write “JUVENILE” in the space provided for the court date.

 

 

4.6.4            If the juvenile is under the age of sixteen and the offense is a minor traffic offense, the officer will follow the same procedures for issuing a copy of traffic charges as prescribed for an adult when a responsible person is available to take charge of the juvenile. However, the court date on the ticket will be marked “JUVENILE.” 

 

4.7.2            A juvenile without a valid driver’s license who is arrested for DUI, regardless of age, is not subject to the Georgia Implied Consent Law and cannot be given a blood or breath test, unless permission has been granted by the juvenile’s parent(s) or legal guardian.  When contacting the parent or legal guardian is not possible due to location, time involved, or other circumstances that prohibit making contact, the arresting officer will follow standard procedure for the arrest of a juvenile.  The court date will be marked “JUVENILE.”

 

 

4.         The Georgia Department of Motor Vehicle Safety (DMVS) is currently updating the processing of both the Georgia Uniform Motor Accident Report (DMVS-523) and the Uniform Traffic Citation (UTC).  The DMVS is working toward receiving both of these documents electronically and are restarting the Georgia Electronic Accident Reporting System (GEARS), and the Georgia Electronic Citation Processing Systems (GEPCS).

 

a.         The DMVS must receive the original DMVS-523 within 15 days of the end of the month in which the accident occurred.  Officers that prepare accident reports must make sure that it is accurate and legible to ensure that the data will not be compromised by a misinterpretation of your handwriting.

 

            b.         Fatality reports must be provided via the GCIC terminal code

                        GPSC and ORI GADMV0020.

 

                                    c.         The timeliness of these reports directly affect the potential for adverse

            sanctions against the State of Georgia.  Federal rules require that convictions be entered on the driving record within 30 days of the date of the conviction, or that Georgia notifies the applicable licensing state within 30 days.  The City of Atlanta Municipal / Traffic Courts must report convictions to the DMVS within 10 days of the conviction.

 

         In order to help the City of Atlanta meet these deadlines, officers must ensure that their UTC is accurate, legible, and timely.

 

e.         The following are examples of mistakes officers make on a UTC:

  • Violation date errors

  • Date of birth and/or driver’s license number errors

  • Invalid violation codes or no code listed

  • Missing or invalid demographic information(address/race/gender)

  • Illegible information

5.         Pretrial Detention Center  – Physical Traffic Arrestss

 

Pending the incorporation into the applicable written directive, the following procedures are effective immediately:

 

         When a physical arrest is made on a Uniform Traffic Citation (UTC) and the prisoner is transported to the Pretrial Detention Center, the arresting or transporting officer will leave the PINK, WHITE, and YELLOW copies with the jail. 

 

 

D.            Summary

 

The Fulton County Juvenile Court has asked that we be more diligent in our enforcement efforts to ease the burden on the courts.  The defendant’s families are forced in most cases to go the State traffic court only to be told the court has no jurisdiction.  These families must then go to court a second time for the same offense at the juvenile court because the officer in the field has not properly filled out the citation.

 

The increased attention to detail while completing all associated police reports is critical to the proper administration of justice.  Errors and lack of adequate penmanship not only delays the proper reporting of court cases, but may cause sanctions to be imposed upon all levels of the criminal justice system.

 

E.            Key Point Summary

  •       If the driver license is printed with red ink, check the birth date to confirm if the driver is a juvenile.

  •       If the driver is a Juvenile (16 years or younger) write “JUVENILE” in the court date space provided on the ticket.  NO other court date is necessary.

  •      The yellow, pink, and white copies of the UTC must be turned into the jail at the time of intake.
     

  •       All police reports (incident, accident, and UTC) must be accurate, legible, and timely.