New Jersey Statutes 2A:4A-32. Short-term custody
Terms Used In New Jersey Statutes 2A:4A-32
- Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
- person: includes corporations, companies, associations, societies, firms, partnerships and joint stock companies as well as individuals, unless restricted by the context to an individual as distinguished from a corporate entity or specifically restricted to one or some of the above enumerated synonyms and, when used to designate the owner of property which may be the subject of an offense, includes this State, the United States, any other State of the United States as defined infra and any foreign country or government lawfully owning or possessing property within this State. See New Jersey Statutes 1:1-2
b. An officer taking a juvenile into short-term custody shall inform the juvenile of the reason for custody and shall where possible transport, or arrange to have the juvenile transported to his home. The officer releasing a juvenile from such custody shall inform the juvenile’s parents or guardian and the juvenile-family crisis intervention unit of the reason for taking the juvenile into custody and may, if he believes further services are needed, inform the juvenile and his parents of the nature and location of appropriate services.
c. A law enforcement officer taking a juvenile into short-term custody may transport the juvenile to the home of a relative of the juvenile or to the home of another responsible adult or make arrangement for such transportation where the officer reasonably believes that the child will be provided with adequate care and supervision and that the child will remain in custody of the adult until such time as the juvenile-family crisis intervention unit can bring about the child’s return home or an alternative living arrangement or out of home placement. A law enforcement officer placing a juvenile with a relative or responsible adult shall immediately notify the juvenile-family crisis intervention unit of this fact and the reason for taking the juvenile into custody.
d. A law enforcement officer acting reasonably and in good faith pursuant to this section in releasing a juvenile to a person other than a parent of a juvenile is immune from civil or criminal liability for his action. A person other than a parent of the juvenile who receives a child pursuant to this section and who acts reasonably and in good faith in doing so is immune from civil or criminal liability for the act of receiving the child. Immunity shall not release a person from liability under any other laws, including the laws regulating licensed child care or prohibiting child abuse and neglect.
L.1982,c.77,s.13; amended 1995,c.280,s.6.