(3) For purposes of this section, a "qualified juvenile offender" means a juvenile who meets both of the following: a. The juvenile has no prior adjudication of delinquency. b. The juvenile has not received a prior referral to the Juvenile Offender Civil Citation or any other diversion program unless more than 1 year has elapsed since the prior referral. (4) a. For all acts of delinquency described under paragraph (b)(2) of this section, a peace officer must consciously consider issuing a civil citation where the juvenile is a qualified juvenile offender. b. For any act of delinquency under paragraph (b)(2) of this section, if an arresting peace officer chooses not to issue a civil citation and instead to bring 1 or more charges against the qualified juvenile offender, the peace officer may document the reason why a civil citation was not issued. For the following acts of delinquency, if the peace officer chooses not to issue a civil citation and instead to bring 1 or more charges against the qualified juvenile offender, the peace officer must document the reason why a civil citation was not issued in the Delaware Criminal Justice Information System: 1. Criminal mischief under § 811 of Title 11. 2. Graffiti and possession of graffiti implements under § 812 of Title 11. 3. Criminal trespass in the third degree under § 821 of Title 11. 4. Criminal trespass in the second degree under § 822 of Title 11. 5. Shoplifting under § 840 of Title 11. 6. Theft under § 841 of Title 11. 7. Receiving stolen property under § 851 of Title 11. 8. Selling stolen property under § 852A of Title 11. 9. Unlawful use of payment card under § 903 of Title 11. 10. Disorderly conduct under § 1301 of Title 11. 11. Harassment under § 1311 of Title 11. 12. Loitering under § 1321 of Title 11. (c) A civil citation shall be initiated by entering all required information into the Law Enforcement Investigative Support System (LEISS) to include a description of the offense believed to have been committed; contact information for the designated civil citation community providers; notification that the juvenile must contact the identified civil citation community provider within 7 business days to schedule their intake and initial assessment; and a warning that failure to contact the identified civil citation community provider may result in the juvenile's arrest and the commencement of delinquency proceedings as otherwise provided in this subchapter. (d) At the time of issuance of a civil citation by the peace officer, the peace officer shall advise the juvenile that the juvenile has the option to refuse the civil citation and instead be taken into custody and subject to arrest and prosecution as otherwise provided in this subchapter. Upon issuance of a civil citation, the peace officer shall submit the civil citation through LEISS to the Civil Citation Coordinator. (e) A juvenile issued a civil citation shall contact the identified civil citation community provider within 7 business days or as otherwise directed in the civil citation and thereafter report to the identified provider to which the juvenile is referred. (f) (1) Providers shall assess referred juveniles using an approved risk assessment tool and may recommend the juvenile to participate in counseling, treatment, community service or other interventions appropriate to the needs of the juvenile as identified by the assessment. (2) For purposes of Chapter 86 of Title 11, a civil citation community provider is all of the following: a. Engaged in the rehabilitation of accused persons in the administration of criminal justice. b. An authorized user, if qualified under the minimum requirements established under § 8608 of Title 11. c. An authorized agency, if qualified under §§ 8610 and 8611 of Title 11. (g) Upon completion of all terms and conditions of the Juvenile Offender Civil Citation Program, the juvenile shall be discharged successfully without arrest. (h) If the juvenile fails to comply with any requirements of the Juvenile Offender Civil Citation Program, including any assessments or required services, or otherwise violates any terms or conditions imposed by the identified provider, the juvenile shall be unsuccessfully discharged from the Juvenile Offender Civil Citation Program. The Civil Citation Coordinator shall advise the referring peace officer of a juvenile's unsuccessful termination from the program. A peace officer, upon receiving notice that a juvenile to whom they have issued a civil citation has been unsuccessfully discharged from the Juvenile Offender Civil Citation Program, shall be authorized to arrest the juvenile and proceed as otherwise provided in this subchapter. (i) Participation in the Juvenile Offender Civil Citation Program shall not, with respect to a subsequent arrest, serve to disqualify or otherwise preclude a juvenile from participating in any diversion program at the discretion of the Attorney General. (j) Notwithstanding anything in this section to the contrary, those juveniles referred to the Juvenile Civil Citation Program under § 904 of Title 4 or § 4764 of Title 16 may not be arrested for refusal to participate in the program or violating terms and conditions of the program. (k) Notwithstanding anything in this section to the contrary, those juveniles referred to the Juvenile Offender Civil Citation Program under § 1002 of this title shall be referred to the Program and may not be arrested for refusal to participate in the Program or violating terms and conditions of the Program. (l) Every "law-enforcement agency," as defined under § 1913 of Title 11, must provide an annual report to the Police Officer Standards and Training Commission which contains a description of the agency's use of juvenile offender civil citations, including a list of all instances where a qualified juvenile was charged with a crime instead of being issued a civil citation.
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