Under 12 years old
On September 30th, 2018, California Governor Jerry Brown signed a historic piece of legislation ending the prosecution of children under 12 in juvenile court. Senate Bill (SB) 439, established for the first time a minimum age for the jurisdiction of juvenile courts in California. There are only five (5) crimes for which a youth under 12 may still be petitioned in court: (1) murder; (2) rape by force, violence, duress, menace or fear; (3) sodomy by force, violence, duress, menace or fear; (4) oral copulation by force, violence, duress, menace or fear; or (5) sexual penetration by force, violence, duress, menace, or fear.
Beginning January 1, 2019, counties were no longer permitted to process children under 12 through the juvenile justice system. Instead, families and school staff are entrusted to respond to behaviors with age-appropriate consequences rather than refer the children to the Probation Department. For the small number of children whose behaviors indicate a higher level of need and care, each county must provide support through existing programs and agencies, including community-based organizations and behavioral health or child welfare systems.
In Santa Clara County, a protocol was adopted by the Santa Clara County Police Chief’s Association to help inform how police officers in the field respond to encounters with children under the age of 12 considering this new law. Juvenile justice stakeholders are focusing their efforts on developing a more robust resource guide and potential referral service, outlining available school-, health-, and community-based services.
In 2010 Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors announced a policy that discourages any youth from being detained in Juvenile Hall who is under the age of 13.
The Board of Supervisors Policy states:
“It is the policy of the Board of Supervisors that juveniles under the age of 13 should not be placed in Juvenile Hall and that the County shall take every possible effort to find a more suitable placement for the juveniles.”
Additionally, the Juvenile Justice Court has issued a Standing Order allowing for the release of minors age 12 to be released from Juvenile Hall on house arrest.
“Consistent with the desire to prevent very young minors from being brought into Juvenile Hall and recognizing that some failures on the Electronic Monitoring Program are due to unstable homes and family dynamics, it is hereby Ordered that in any case where a minor 12 years of age or younger may be brought into the Hall for either Pre-Court or Post-Court Electronic Monitoring failure, and Probation has both located a community facility or center such as the Bill Wilson Center, and believes an alternative to juvenile hall is proper, Probation, in lieu of receiving the minor into the Hall, may terminate the Electronic Monitoring Program and place the minor in the community facility.”