Who else is getting Moday morning calls to criminally enforce child visitation under the Interference with Child Custody statute. 25.03 What are y'all doing with these requests?

Those kinds of cases can overwhelm an office. To avoid unneccessary charges, we train our local officers to take the following steps before anyone gets arrested. Most cases end up being closed without prosecution or no-billed by a grand jury. These steps are included in a memo sent to the law enforcement agencies.

1. The decision whether to file a complaint has to be made on the facts of the particular case. The people in our office want to be consulted if an investigator or other deputy has questions or doubts about what do in a case.

2. When an officer investigates a charge of interference with child custody, the officer should focus on whether there is any immediate danger to the safety of the child or any indication that the child is likely to be removed from the state. If so, then the officer should contact a prosecutor and seek approval (through a written complaint or search warrant) before arresting a defendant or removing a child.

3. If there is no immediate danger to the safety of the child and no indication the child is likely to be removed from the state, the officer should simply conduct a normal investigation and collect information from all parties without making an arrest or removing the child. The officer then should inform the complainant that the proper forum for challenging the violation of the court order is in family court through the use of a private attorney. If the complainant can not afford a private attorney, refer the complainant to legal aid.

4. In the course of the investigation, the officer should obtain a copy of the court order regarding custody or visitation and obtain written statements from the complainant and defendant, if possible. After completing the investigation, the officer should forward the offense report, court order, and any written statements to our office for review.