It is my understanding that JPO's cannot detain a juvenile on a "paper referral" prior to that juvenile coming before the court and being placed on conditions of release (it would require a law enforcement officer to detain). Our chief intake officer, who is extremely well-versed in the family code and who spoke frequently with Prof Dawson, swears that it was Dawson's position that JPO's could detain in this situation so long as the juvenile had never previously been detained. Am I wrong? If so, where is the authority under 52.01?

Do you mean like go out and get the kid and bring him to detention with no DTA ???
If so I wholeheartedly disagree with your PO.
If he means take the paper referral and go to the Judge and ask for a DTA then maybe, but otherwise I think 52.01 is quite clear.

But in his defense let me also say that Dawson IMHO often said "well what we meant that to do/mean was...." so Dawson may have felt that way but I don't think the statute supports it.

I mean juvenile appears for initial intake interview in response to a letter sent from Department - no petition filed. Then, shows up and says he's been abusing drugs, hasn't been going to school, curses the jpo and then is detained. I find no authority for such a detention.

I agree. Especially if you consider 52.04 and 53.01 in conjunction with 52.01.

As a follow up to this thread regarding P.O.'s taking kids into custody without a court order or release with conditions, my intake chief located her correspondence with Dawson. Here is the text of Dawson's response:

"I assume we are talking about non-custodial referrals to the juvenile court by law enforcement. Intake works with the child for a time and then decides the situation is more serious than initially believed and wishes to place the child into detention for further processing.

"I think intake can do so without involving law enforcement. Here is my reasoning. The referral is based on a law enforcement warning notice under 52.01(d), which provides that it "may be used as the basis of further action if necessary" or the referral is based on a custodial arrest by law enforcement which has resulted in release to parents or other adult under 52.02(a)(1). In either event, intake must under 53.01(a) determine that the person referred is a child and that there is probable cause to believe that the child committed an act that comes within the jurisdiction of the juvenile court. Under those circumstances, intake must release (or continue the child on community status) unless it believes that one or more of the five detention criteria identified by Section 53.02(b) has been met. If so, then intake can order the child detained pending a timely detention hearing, just as though the child had been referred while in custody.

"In summary, if intake finds the person is a child and that there is probable cause to belive that the child violated 51.03, then it can order the child detained under 53.02(b) if at least one of the detention criteria is believed to have been met. There is no need for a judicial order of deteniton or for law enforcement to take the child into custody in order to effect the detention."



ALL of that being said, I still don't see it statutorily. 53.02(b) specifically states when "a child is taken into custody" . . . may be detained. 52.01 specifically states when a child may be taken into custody and paper referrals are not one of those circumstances. I also feel that the recent addition of 52.01(a)(6) and its specificity regarding P.O.'s makes this circumstance and even harder case to sell.