CA Laws/Alerts in Place

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California Missing Persons
The Missing and Unidentified Persons Unit in the California Department of Justice assists law enforcement and criminal justice agencies in locating missing persons and identifying unknown live and deceased persons through the comparison of physical characteristics, fingerprints and dental/body X-rays

In California, a missing person is someone whose whereabouts is unknown to the reporting party. This includes any child who may have run away, been taken involuntary or may be in need of assistance. It includes a child illegally taken, held or hidden by a parent or non-parent family member (*See California Penal Code Sections 277-280).

There is NO waiting period for reporting a person missing. All California police and sheriffs' departments must accept any report, including a report by telephone, of a missing person, including runaways, without delay and will give priority to the handling of the report.


Amber Alert

California's AMBER Alert is an innovative statewide program in which law enforcement agencies, local radio and television stations and the public collaborate to help locate abducted children as soon as possible after they are reported missing.

Activation Criteria

After receiving a report of a child abduction, the responsible law enforcement agency must conduct a preliminary investigation and determine if the specified criteria for an AMBER Alert activation have been met.
All of the following conditions must apply:
• A confirmed abduction has occurred.
• The victim is 17 years of age or younger, or of proven mental or physical disability.
• The victim is reasonably believed by local law enforcement to be in imminent danger of serious bodily injury or death.
• There is information available that, if disseminated to the general public, could assist in the safe recovery of the victim.

Note: AMBER Alert is not intended for cases involving runaways, missing children in which there is no evidence of foul play, or custody disputes that are not reasonably believed to endanger the life or physical health of a child. However, agencies should continue to exercise their discretion when determining which of the many tools available would be the most appropriate for transmitting information and photos of missing children to other officers, the media and the public.

CA Amber Alert
 
CA PENAL CODE
SECTION 14200-14213


14200. The Attorney General shall establish and maintain the
Violent Crime Information Center to assist in the identification and
the apprehension of persons responsible for specific violent crimes
and for the disappearance and exploitation of persons, particularly
children and dependent adults. The center shall establish and
maintain programs which include, but are not limited to, all of the
following: developing violent offender profiles; assisting local law
enforcement agencies and county district attorneys by providing
investigative information on persons responsible for specific violent
crimes and missing person cases; providing physical description
information and photographs, if available, of missing persons to
county district attorneys, nonprofit missing persons organizations,
and schools; and providing statistics on missing dependent adults and
on missing children, including, as may be applicable, family
abductions, nonfamily abductions, voluntary missing, and lost
children or lost dependent adults.


14201. (a) The Attorney General shall establish within the center
and shall maintain an online, automated computer system designed to
effect an immediate law enforcement response to reports of missing
persons. The Attorney General shall design the computer system,
using any existing system, including the California Law Enforcement
Telecommunications System, to include an active file of information
concerning persons reported to it as missing and who have not been
reported as found. The computer system shall also include a
confidential historic data base. The Attorney General shall develop
a system of cataloging missing person reports according to a variety
of characteristics in order to facilitate locating particular
categories of reports as needed.
(b) The Attorney General's active files described in subdivision
(a) shall be made available to law enforcement agencies. The
Attorney General shall provide to these agencies the name and
personal description data of the missing person including, but not
limited to, the person's date of birth, color of eyes and hair, sex,
height, weight, and race, the time and date he or she was reported
missing, the reporting agency, and any other data pertinent to the
purpose of locating missing persons. However, the Attorney General
shall not release the information if the reporting agency requests
the Attorney General in writing not to release the information
because it would impair a criminal investigation.
(c) The Attorney General shall distribute a missing children and
dependent adults bulletin on a quarterly basis to local law
enforcement agencies, district attorneys, and public schools. The
Attorney General shall also make this information accessible to other
parties involved in efforts to locate missing children and dependent
adults and to those other persons as the Attorney General deems
appropriate.
This section shall become operative on July 1, 1989.



14201.1. The Attorney General shall establish and maintain, upon
appropriation of funds by the Legislature, the Violent Crime
Information Network within the center to enable the Department of
Justice crime analysts with expertise in child abuse, missing
persons, child abductions, and sexual assaults to electronically
share their data, analysis, and findings on violent crime cases with
each other, and to electronically provide law enforcement agencies
with information to assist in the identification, tracking, and
apprehension of violent offenders. The Violent Crime Information
Network shall serve to integrate existing state, federal, and
civilian data bases into a single comprehensive network.



14201.5. (a) The Attorney General shall establish within the
Department of Justice the Missing and Exploited Children's Recovery
Network by July 31, 1995.
(b) This network shall consist of an automated computerized system
that shall have the capability to electronically transmit to all
state and local law enforcement agencies, and all cooperating news
media services, either by facsimile or computer modem, a missing
child poster that includes the name, personal description data, and
picture of the missing child. The information contained in this
poster shall include, but not be limited to, the child's date of
birth, color of eyes and hair, sex, height, weight, race, the time
and date he or she was reported missing, the reporting agency,
including contact person at reporting agency if known, and any other
data pertinent to the purpose of locating missing persons.
(c) The Department of Justice shall work in cooperation with the
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to develop and
implement a network that can electronically interface with the
National Missing and Exploited Children's Network.
(d) The Attorney General shall implement this network within
existing Department of Justice resources.

14201.6. (a) The Department of Justice shall establish and maintain
a publicly accessible computer internet directory of information
relating to the following:
(1) Persons for whom an arrest warrant has been issued pursuant to
an alleged violation of any offense defined as a violent felony in
subdivision (c) of Section 667.5.
(2) Critical missing children.
(3) Unsolved homicides.
(b) The Attorney General may determine the extent of information
and the priority of cases to be included in the directory.
(c) The department shall keep confidential, and not enter into the
directory, either of the following:
(1) Information regarding any case for which the Attorney General
has determined that disclosure pursuant to this section would
endanger the safety of a person involved in an investigation or the
successful completion of the investigation or a related
investigation.
(2) Information regarding an arrest warrant for which the issuing
magistrate has determined that disclosure pursuant to this section
would endanger the safety of a person involved in an investigation or
the successful completion of the investigation or a related
investigation.
(d) For purposes of this section, "critical missing child"
includes, but is not limited to, any case of a missing child for
which there is evidence or indications that the child is at risk, as
specified in subdivision (b) of Section 14213.

14202. (a) The Attorney General shall establish and maintain within
the center an investigative support unit and an automated violent
crime method of operation system to facilitate the identification and
apprehension of persons responsible for murder, kidnap, including
parental abduction, false imprisonment, or sexual assault. This unit
shall be responsible for identifying perpetrators of violent
felonies collected from the center and analyzing and comparing data
on missing persons in order to determine possible leads which could
assist local law enforcement agencies. This unit shall only release
information about active investigations by police and sheriffs'
departments to local law enforcement agencies.
(b) The Attorney General shall make available to the investigative
support unit files organized by category of offender or victim and
shall seek information from other files as needed by the unit. This
set of files may include, among others, the following:
(1) Missing or unidentified, deceased persons' dental files filed
pursuant to this title, Section 27521 of the Government Code, or
Section 102870 of the Health and Safety Code.
(2) Child abuse reports filed pursuant to Section 11169.
(3) Sex offender registration files maintained pursuant to Section
290.
(4) State summary criminal history information maintained pursuant
to Section 11105.
(5) Information obtained pursuant to the parent locator service
maintained pursuant to Section 11478.5 of the Welfare and
Institutions Code.
(6) Information furnished to the Department of Justice pursuant to
Section 11107.
(7) Other Attorney General's office files as requested by the
investigative support unit.
This section shall become operative on July 1, 1989.

14202.1. The Attorney General shall establish and maintain, upon
appropriation of funds by the Legislature, within the center the
Violent Crime Information System to track and monitor violent
offenders and their activities. The Violent Crime Information System
shall use computer technology to compare unsolved crime scene and
methods of operation information against the file of known violent
sexual assault, kidnapping, and homicide offenders, containing over
40,000 violent, kidnapping, and homicide offenders. The system shall
provide local law enforcement agencies with investigative leads to
assist in the resolution of violent crimes.

14202.2. (a) The Department of Justice, in conjunction with the
Department of Corrections, shall update any supervised release file
that is available to law enforcement on the California Law
Enforcement Telecommunications System every 10 days to reflect the
most recent inmates paroled from facilities under the jurisdiction of
the Department of Corrections.
(b) Commencing on July 1, 2001, The Department of Justice, in
consultation with the State Department of Mental Health, shall also
update any supervised release file that is available to law
enforcement on the California Law Enforcement Telecommunications
System every 10 days to reflect patients undergoing community mental
health treatment and supervision through the Forensic Conditional
Release Program administered by the State Department of Mental
Health, other than individuals committed as incompetent to stand
trial pursuant to Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 1367) of Title
10 of Part 2.

14203. (a) The online missing persons registry shall accept and
generate complete information on a missing person.
(b) The information on a missing person shall be retrievable by
any of the following:
(1) The person's name.
(2) The person's date of birth.
(3) The person's social security number.
(4) Whether a dental chart has been received, coded, and entered
into the National Crime Information Center Missing Person System by
the Attorney General.
(5) The person's physical description, including hair and eye
color and body marks.
(6) The person's known associates.
(7) The person's last known location.
(8) The name or assumed name of the abductor, if applicable, other
pertinent information relating to the abductor or the assumed
abductor, or both.
(9) Any other information, as deemed appropriate by the Attorney
General.
(c) The Attorney General, in consultation with local law
enforcement agencies and other user groups, shall develop the form in
which information shall be entered into the system.
(d) The Attorney General shall establish and maintain within the
center a separate, confidential historic database relating to missing
children and dependent adults. The historic database may be used
only by the center for statistical and research purposes. The
historic database shall be set up to categorize cases relating to
missing children and dependent adults by type. These types shall
include the following: runaways, voluntary missing, lost, abduction
involving movement of the victim in the commission of the crime or
sexual exploitation of the victim, nonfamily abduction, family
abduction, and any other categories as determined by the Attorney
General. In addition, the data shall include the number of missing
children and missing dependent adults in this state and the category
of each case.
(e) The center may supply information about specific cases from
the historic database to a local police department, sheriff's
department, or district attorney, only in connection with an
investigation by the police department, sheriff's department, or
district attorney of a missing person case or a violation or
attempted violation of Section 220, 261.5, 262, 273a, 273d, or 273.5,
or any sex offense listed in Section 290, except for the offense
specified in subdivision (d) of Section 243.4.

14204. The Attorney General shall provide training on the services
provided by the center to line personnel, supervisors, and
investigators in the following fields: law enforcement, district
attorneys' offices, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation,
probation departments, court mediation services, and the judiciary.
 
CA PENAL CODE continued:

14205. (a) All local police and sheriffs' departments shall accept
any report, including any telephonic report, of a missing person,
including runaways, without delay and shall give priority to the
handling of these reports over the handling of reports relating to
crimes involving property. In cases where the person making a report
of a missing person or runaway, contacts, including by telephone,
the California Highway Patrol, the California Highway Patrol may take
the report, and shall immediately advise the person making the
report of the name and telephone number of the police or sheriff's
department having jurisdiction of the residence address of the
missing person and of the name and telephone number of the police or
sheriff's department having jurisdiction of the place where the
person was last seen. In cases of reports involving missing persons,
including, but not limited to, runaways, the local police or sheriff'
s department shall immediately take the report and make an assessment
of reasonable steps to be taken to locate the person. If the
missing person is under 16 years of age, or there is evidence that
the person is at risk, the department shall broadcast a "Be On the
Look-Out" bulletin, without delay, within its jurisdiction.
(b) If the person reported missing is under 16 years of age, or if
there is evidence that the person is at risk, the local police,
sheriff's department, or the California Highway Patrol shall submit
the report to the Attorney General's office within four hours after
accepting the report. After the California Law Enforcement
Telecommunications System online missing person registry becomes
operational, the reports shall be submitted, within four hours after
accepting the report, to the Attorney General's office through the
use of the California Telecommunications System.
(c) In cases where the report is taken by a department, other than
that of the city or county of residence of the missing person or
runaway, the department, or division of the California Highway Patrol
taking the report shall, without delay, and, in the case of children
under 16 years of age or where there was evidence that the missing
person was at risk, within no more than 24 hours, notify, and forward
a copy of the report to the police or sheriff's department or
departments having jurisdiction of the residence address of the
missing person or runaway and of the place where the person was last
seen. The report shall also be submitted by the department or
division of the California Highway Patrol which took the report to
the center.
(d) The requirements imposed by this section on local police and
sheriff's departments shall not be operative if the governing body of
that local agency, by a majority vote of the members of that body,
adopts a resolution expressly making those requirements inoperative.

14206. (a) (1) When any person makes a report of a missing person
to a police department, sheriff's department, district attorney's
office, California Highway Patrol, or other law enforcement agency,
the report shall be given in person or by mail in a format acceptable
to the Attorney General. That form shall include a statement
authorizing the release of the dental or skeletal X-rays, or both, of
the person reported missing and authorizing the release of a recent
photograph of a person reported missing who is under 18 years of age.
Included with the form shall be instructions which state that if
the person reported missing is still missing 30 days after the report
is made, the release form signed by a member of the family or next
of kin of the missing person shall be taken by the family member or
next of kin to the dentist, physician and surgeon, or medical
facility in order to obtain the release of the dental or skeletal
X-rays, or both, of that person or may be taken by a peace officer,
if others fail to take action, to secure those X-rays.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, dental or skeletal
X-rays, or both, shall be released by the dentist, physician and
surgeon, or medical facility to the person presenting the request and
shall be submitted within 10 days by that person to the police or
sheriff's department or other law enforcement agency having
jurisdiction over the investigation. When the person reported
missing has not been found within 30 days and no family or next of
kin exists or can be located, the law enforcement agency may execute
a written declaration, stating that an active investigation seeking
the location of the missing person is being conducted, and that the
dental or skeletal X-rays, or both, are necessary for the exclusive
purpose of furthering the investigation. Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, the written declaration, signed by a peace officer,
is sufficient authority for the dentist, physician and surgeon, or
medical facility to release the missing person's dental or skeletal
X-rays, or both.
(2) The form provided under this subdivision shall also state that
if the person reported missing is under 18 years of age, the
completed form shall be taken to the dentist, physician and surgeon,
or medical facility immediately when the law enforcement agency
determines that the disappearance involves evidence that the person
is at risk or when the law enforcement agency determines that the
person missing is under 16 years of age and has been missing at least
14 days. The form shall further provide that the dental or skeletal
X-rays, or both, and a recent photograph of the missing child shall
be submitted immediately to the law enforcement agency. Whenever
authorized under this subdivision to execute a written declaration to
obtain the release of dental or skeletal X-rays, or both, is
provided, the investigating law enforcement agency may obtain those
X-rays when a person reported missing is under 18 years of age and
the law enforcement agency determines that the disappearance involves
evidence that the person is at risk. In each case, the law
enforcement agency may confer immediately with the coroner or medical
examiners and may submit its report including the dental or skeletal
X-rays, or both, within 24 hours thereafter to the Attorney General.
The Attorney General's office shall code and enter the dental or
skeletal X-rays, or both, into the center.
(b) When a person reported missing has not been found within 45
days, the sheriff, chief of police, or other law enforcement agency
conducting the investigation for the missing person may confer with
the coroner or medical examiner prior to the preparation of a missing
person report. The coroner or medical examiner shall cooperate with
the law enforcement agency. After conferring with the coroner or
medical examiner, the sheriff, chief of police, or other law
enforcement agency initiating and conducting the investigation for
the missing person may submit a missing person report and the dental
or skeletal X-rays, or both, and photograph received pursuant to
subdivision (a) to the Attorney General's office in a format
acceptable to the Attorney General.
(c) Nothing in this section prohibits a parent or guardian of a
child, reported to a law enforcement agency as missing, from
voluntarily submitting fingerprints, and other documents, to the law
enforcement agency accepting the report for inclusion in the report
which is submitted to the Attorney General.
(d) The requirements imposed by this section on local police and
sheriff's departments shall not be operative if the governing body of
that local agency, by a majority vote of the members of that body,
adopts a resolution expressly making those requirements inoperative.


14207. (a) When a person reported missing has been found, the
sheriff, chief of police, coroner or medical examiner, or the law
enforcement agency locating the missing person shall immediately
report that information to the Attorney General's office.
(b) When a child under 12 years of age or a missing person, where
there was evidence that the person was at risk, is found, the report
indicating that the person is found shall be made not later than 24
hours after the person is found. A report shall also be made to the
law enforcement agency that made the initial missing person report.
The Attorney General's office shall then notify the National Crime
Information Center that the missing person has been found.
(c) In the event that a missing person is found alive or dead in
less than 24 hours and the local police or sheriff's department has
reason to believe that the person had been abducted, the department
shall submit a report to the center in a format established by the
Attorney General. In the event that a missing person has been found
before he or she has been reported missing to the center, the
information related to the incident shall be submitted to the center.

14208. (a) The Department of Justice shall operate a statewide,
toll-free telephone hotline 24 hours per day, seven days per week to
receive information regarding missing children and dependent adults
and relay this information to the appropriate law enforcement
authorities.
(b) The Department of Justice shall select up to six children per
month from the missing children registry maintained pursuant to
former Section 11114 or pursuant to the system maintained pursuant to
Sections 14201 and 14202 and shall produce posters with photographs
and information regarding these children, including the missing
children hotline telephone number and reward information. The
department shall make these posters available to parties as
prescribed and as the department deems appropriate.

14209. (a) The Department of Justice shall provide appropriate
local reporting agencies with a list of persons still listed as
missing who are under 18 years of age, with an appropriate waiver
form in order to assist the reporting agency in obtaining a
photograph of each of the missing children.
(b) Local reporting agencies shall attempt to obtain the most
recent photograph available for persons still listed as missing and
forward those photographs to the Department of Justice.
(c) The department shall include these photographs, as they become
available, in the quarterly bulletins pursuant to subdivision (c)
of Section 14201.
(d) State and local elected officials, agencies, departments,
boards, and commissions may enclose in their mailings information
regarding missing children or dependent adults obtainable from the
Department of Justice or any organization that is recognized as a
nonprofit, tax-exempt organization under state or federal law and
that has an ongoing missing children program. Elected officials,
agency secretaries, and directors of departments, boards, and
commissions are urged to develop policies to enclose missing children
or dependent adults information in mailings when it will not
increase postage costs, and is otherwise deemed appropriate.


14210. (a) The Legislature finds and declares that it is the duty
of all law enforcement agencies to immediately assist any person who
is attempting to make a report of a missing person or runaway.
(b) The Department of the California Highway Patrol shall continue
to implement the written policy, required to be developed and
adopted pursuant to former Section 11114.3, for the coordination of
each of its divisions with the police and sheriffs' departments
located within each division in taking, transmitting, and
investigating reports of missing persons, including runaways.

14213. (a) As used in this title, "missing person" includes, but is
not limited to, a child who has been taken, detained, concealed,
enticed away, or retained by a parent in violation of Chapter 4
(commencing with Section 277) of Title 9 of Part 1. It also includes
any child who is missing voluntarily or involuntarily, or under
circumstances not conforming to his or her ordinary habits or
behavior and who may be in need of assistance.
(b) As used in this title, "evidence that the person is at risk"
includes, but is not limited to, evidence or indications of any of
the following:
(1) The person missing is the victim of a crime or foul play.
(2) The person missing is in need of medical attention.
(3) The person missing has no pattern of running away or
disappearing.
(4) The person missing may be the victim of parental abduction.
(5) The person missing is mentally impaired.
(c) As used in this title, "child" is any person under the age of
18.
(d) As used in this title, "center" means the Violent Crime
Information Center.
(e) As used in this title, "dependent adult" is any person
described in subdivision (e) of Section 368.
(f) As used in this title, "dental or medical records or X-rays,"
include all those records or X-rays which are in the possession of a
dentist, physician and surgeon, or medical facility.
 
In California, a missing person is someone whose whereabouts is unknown to the reporting party. This includes any child who may have run away, been taken involuntary or may be in need of assistance. It includes a child illegally taken, held or hidden by a parent or non-parent family member.

*PENAL CODE SECTION 277-280


277. The following definitions apply for the purposes of this
chapter:
(a) "Child" means a person under the age of 18 years.
(b) "Court order" or "custody order" means a custody determination
decree, judgment, or order issued by a court of competent
jurisdiction, whether permanent or temporary, initial or modified,
that affects the custody or visitation of a child, issued in the
context of a custody proceeding. An order, once made, shall continue
in effect until it expires, is modified, is rescinded, or terminates
by operation of law.
(c) "Custody proceeding" means a proceeding in which a custody
determination is an issue, including, but not limited to, an action
for dissolution or separation, dependency, guardianship, termination
of parental rights, adoption, paternity, except actions under Section
11350 or 11350.1 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, or protection
from domestic violence proceedings, including an emergency
protective order pursuant to Part 3 (commencing with Section 6240) of
Division 10 of the Family Code.
(d) "Lawful custodian" means a person, guardian, or public agency
having a right to custody of a child.
(e) A "right to custody" means the right to the physical care,
custody, and control of a child pursuant to a custody order as
defined in subdivision (b) or, in the absence of a court order, by
operation of law, or pursuant to the Uniform Parentage Act contained
in Part 3 (commencing with Section 7600) of Division 12 of the Family
Code. Whenever a public agency takes protective custody or
jurisdiction of the care, custody, control, or conduct of a child by
statutory authority or court order, that agency is a lawful custodian
of the child and has a right to physical custody of the child. In
any subsequent placement of the child, the public agency continues to
be a lawful custodian with a right to physical custody of the child
until the public agency's right of custody is terminated by an order
of a court of competent jurisdiction or by operation of law.
(f) In the absence of a court order to the contrary, a parent
loses his or her right to custody of the child to the other parent if
the parent having the right to custody is dead, is unable or refuses
to take the custody, or has abandoned his or her family. A natural
parent whose parental rights have been terminated by court order is
no longer a lawful custodian and no longer has a right to physical
custody.
(g) "Keeps" or "withholds" means retains physical possession of a
child whether or not the child resists or objects.
(h) "Visitation" means the time for access to the child allotted
to any person by court order.
(i) "Person" includes, but is not limited to, a parent or an agent
of a parent.
(j) "Domestic violence" means domestic violence as defined in
Section 6211 of the Family Code.
(k) "Abduct" means take, entice away, keep, withhold, or conceal.



278. Every person, not having a right to custody, who maliciously
takes, entices away, keeps, withholds, or conceals any child with the
intent to detain or conceal that child from a lawful custodian shall
be punished by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year,
a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), or both that
fine and imprisonment, or by imprisonment in the state prison for
two, three, or four years, a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars
($10,000), or both that fine and imprisonment.



278.5. (a) Every person who takes, entices away, keeps, withholds,
or conceals a child and maliciously deprives a lawful custodian of a
right to custody, or a person of a right to visitation, shall be
punished by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, a
fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), or both that fine
and imprisonment, or by imprisonment in the state prison for 16
months, or two or three years, a fine not exceeding ten thousand
dollars ($10,000), or both that fine and imprisonment.
(b) Nothing contained in this section limits the court's contempt
power.
(c) A custody order obtained after the taking, enticing away,
keeping, withholding, or concealing of a child does not constitute a
defense to a crime charged under this section.



278.6. (a) At the sentencing hearing following a conviction for a
violation of Section 278 or 278.5, or both, the court shall consider
any relevant factors and circumstances in aggravation, including, but
not limited to, all of the following:
(1) The child was exposed to a substantial risk of physical injury
or illness.
(2) The defendant inflicted or threatened to inflict physical harm
on a parent or lawful custodian of the child or on the child at the
time of or during the abduction.
(3) The defendant harmed or abandoned the child during the
abduction.
(4) The child was taken, enticed away, kept, withheld, or
concealed outside the United States.
(5) The child has not been returned to the lawful custodian.
(6) The defendant previously abducted or threatened to abduct the
child.
(7) The defendant substantially altered the appearance or the name
of the child.
(8) The defendant denied the child appropriate education during
the abduction.
(9) The length of the abduction.
(10) The age of the child.
(b) At the sentencing hearing following a conviction for a
violation of Section 278 or 278.5, or both, the court shall consider
any relevant factors and circumstances in mitigation, including, but
not limited to, both of the following:
(1) The defendant returned the child unharmed and prior to arrest
or issuance of a warrant for arrest, whichever is first.
(2) The defendant provided information and assistance leading to
the child's safe return.
(c) In addition to any other penalties provided for a violation of
Section 278 or 278.5, a court shall order the defendant to pay
restitution to the district attorney for any costs incurred in
locating and returning the child as provided in Section 3134 of the
Family Code, and to the victim for those expenses and costs
reasonably incurred by, or on behalf of, the victim in locating and
recovering the child. An award made pursuant to this section shall
constitute a final judgment and shall be enforceable as such.



278.7. (a) Section 278.5 does not apply to a person with a right to
custody of a child who, with a good faith and reasonable belief that
the child, if left with the other person, will suffer immediate
bodily injury or emotional harm, takes, entices away, keeps,
withholds, or conceals that child.
(b) Section 278.5 does not apply to a person with a right to
custody of a child who has been a victim of domestic violence who,
with a good faith and reasonable belief that the child, if left with
the other person, will suffer immediate bodily injury or emotional
harm, takes, entices away, keeps, withholds, or conceals that child.
"Emotional harm" includes having a parent who has committed domestic
violence against the parent who is taking, enticing away, keeping,
withholding, or concealing the child.
(c) The person who takes, entices away, keeps, withholds, or
conceals a child shall do all of the following:
(1) Within a reasonable time from the taking, enticing away,
keeping, withholding, or concealing, make a report to the office of
the district attorney of the county where the child resided before
the action. The report shall include the name of the person, the
current address and telephone number of the child and the person, and
the reasons the child was taken, enticed away, kept, withheld, or
concealed.
(2) Within a reasonable time from the taking, enticing away,
keeping, withholding, or concealing, commence a custody proceeding in
a court of competent jurisdiction consistent with the federal
Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act (Section 1738A, Title 28, United
States Code) or the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act (Part 3
(commencing with Section 3400) of Division 8 of the Family Code).
(3) Inform the district attorney's office of any change of address
or telephone number of the person and the child.
(d) For the purposes of this article, a reasonable time within
which to make a report to the district attorney's office is at least
10 days and a reasonable time to commence a custody proceeding is at
least 30 days. This section shall not preclude a person from making
a report to the district attorney's office or commencing a custody
proceeding earlier than those specified times.
(e) The address and telephone number of the person and the child
provided pursuant to this section shall remain confidential unless
released pursuant to state law or by a court order that contains
appropriate safeguards to ensure the safety of the person and the
child.


279. A violation of Section 278 or 278.5 by a person who was not a
resident of, or present in, this state at the time of the alleged
offense is punishable in this state, whether the intent to commit the
offense is formed within or outside of this state, if any of the
following apply:
(a) The child was a resident of, or present in, this state at the
time the child was taken, enticed away, kept, withheld, or concealed.

(b) The child thereafter is found in this state.
(c) A lawful custodian or a person with a right to visitation is a
resident of this state at the time the child was taken, enticed
away, kept, withheld, or concealed.



279.1. The offenses enumerated in Sections 278 and 278.5 are
continuous in nature, and continue for as long as the minor child is
concealed or detained.


279.5. When a person is arrested for an alleged violation of
Section 278 or 278.5, the court, in setting bail, shall take into
consideration whether the child has been returned to the lawful
custodian, and if not, shall consider whether there is an increased
risk that the child may not be returned, or the defendant may flee
the jurisdiction, or, by flight or concealment, evade the authority
of the court.



279.6. (a) A law enforcement officer may take a child into
protective custody under any of the following circumstances:
(1) It reasonably appears to the officer that a person is likely
to conceal the child, flee the jurisdiction with the child, or, by
flight or concealment, evade the authority of the court.
(2) There is no lawful custodian available to take custody of the
child.
(3) There are conflicting custody orders or conflicting claims to
custody and the parties cannot agree which party should take custody
of the child.
(4) The child is an abducted child.
(b) When a law enforcement officer takes a child into protective
custody pursuant to this section, the officer shall do one of the
following:
(1) Release the child to the lawful custodian of the child, unless
it reasonably appears that the release would cause the child to be
endangered, abducted, or removed from the jurisdiction.
(2) Obtain an emergency protective order pursuant to Part 3
(commencing with Section 6240) of Division 10 of the Family Code
ordering placement of the child with an interim custodian who agrees
in writing to accept interim custody.
(3) Release the child to the social services agency responsible
for arranging shelter or foster care.
(4) Return the child as ordered by a court of competent
jurisdiction.
(c) Upon the arrest of a person for a violation of Section 278 or
278.5, a law enforcement officer shall take possession of an abducted
child who is found in the company of, or under the control of, the
arrested person and deliver the child as directed in subdivision (b).

(d) Notwithstanding any other law, when a person is arrested for
an alleged violation of Section 278 or 278.5, the court shall, at the
time of the arraignment or thereafter, order that the child shall be
returned to the lawful custodian by or on a specific date, or that
the person show cause on that date why the child has not been
returned as ordered. If conflicting custodial orders exist within
this state, or between this state and a foreign state, the court
shall set a hearing within five court days to determine which court
has jurisdiction under the laws of this state and determine which
state has subject matter jurisdiction to issue a custodial order
under the laws of this state, the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction
Act (Part 3 (commencing with Section 3400) of Division 8 of the
Family Code), or federal law, if applicable. At the conclusion of
the hearing, or if the child has not been returned as ordered by the
court at the time of arraignment, the court shall enter an order as
to which custody order is valid and is to be enforced. If the child
has not been returned at the conclusion of the hearing, the court
shall set a date within a reasonable time by which the child shall be
returned to the lawful custodian, and order the defendant to comply
by this date, or to show cause on that date why he or she has not
returned the child as directed. The court shall only enforce its
order, or any subsequent orders for the return of the child, under
subdivision (a) of Section 1219 of the Code of Civil Procedure, to
ensure that the child is promptly placed with the lawful custodian.
An order adverse to either the prosecution or defense is reviewable
by a writ of mandate or prohibition addressed to the appropriate
court.



280. Every person who willfully causes or permits the removal or
concealment of any child in violation of Section 8713, 8803, or 8910
of the Family Code shall be punished as follows:
(a) By imprisonment in a county jail for not more than one year if
the child is concealed within the county in which the adoption
proceeding is pending or in which the child has been placed for
adoption, or is removed from that county to a place within this
state.
(b) By imprisonment in the state prison, or by imprisonment in a
county jail for not more than one year, if the child is removed from
that county to a place outside of this state.



http://ag.ca.gov/missing/
 
California

California AB 940
Extends the $2 fee increase on death certificates issued by a local government agency to fund the "Missing Persons DNA Data Base."


In California, a missing persons database was created and funded by increasing the cost of a death certificate by $2, which raises about $3 million a year.

"The legislation goes far beyond the creation of a database," says Jeannine Willie, with the California Bureau of Forensic Services. "It establishes important procedures for law enforcement when a missing persons report is filed and puts requirements on medical examiners when a body is found."

The legislation requires law enforcement to accept a missing person report from anyone and to enter the information into the system. This is important in circumstances where the missing person is not in frequent contact with family members or does not have a family. In situations where the person disappeared under suspicious circumstances or is under age 16, law enforcement officers are required to check with the local coroner or medical examiner, broadcast an alert, and inform parents or relatives that they voluntarily may provide a sample for DNA testing.

Also in California, medical examiners and coroners are required to submit detailed reports to the state's Department of Justice whenever human remains are recovered. The reports include autopsies, fingerprints, dental x-rays, genetic material for DNA testing and other information to assist in identifying the body.

"Very few states require these simple steps, but they go a long way in solving missing person cases," says Willie. "The most important things to do are to require law enforcement and medical examiners to collect and share information in a timely fashion and prohibit state agencies from disposing of unidentified remains without retaining a sample for future analysis."

http://www.ncsl.org/programs/pubs/Slmag/2006/06SLMar06_Identifying.htm#texas
 
California AB 22 (Chapter 240)
Establishes trafficking in human beings as a felony punishable by three, four or six years in state prison. Allows for forfeiture of assets derived from human trafficking. Creates the California Alliance to Combat Trafficking and Slavery (California ACTS) Task Force. Requires the court to order the offenders found guilty of human trafficking to pay restitution to their victims.

California SB 180 (Chapter 239)

Establishes the California Alliance to Combat Trafficking and Slavery Task Force to evaluate various programs available to victims of trafficking and various criminal statutes addressing human trafficking, and report to the Legislature, governor and attorney general on or before July 1, 2007.

http://www.ncsl.org/programs/cj/victimenacts05.htm#trafficking
 
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