Texas Code of Criminal Procedure 2.13 – Duties and Powers
(a) It is the duty of every peace officer to preserve the peace within the officer’s jurisdiction. To effect this purpose, the officer shall use all lawful means.
(b) The officer shall:
(1) in every case authorized by the provisions of this Code, interfere without warrant to prevent or suppress crime;
(2) execute all lawful process issued to the officer by any magistrate or court;
(3) give notice to some magistrate of all offenses committed within the officer’s jurisdiction, where the officer has good reason to believe there has been a violation of the penal law; and
(4) arrest offenders without warrant in every case where the officer is authorized by law, in order that they may be taken before the proper magistrate or court and be tried.
Terms Used In Texas Code of Criminal Procedure 2.13
- Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
- Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
(c) It is the duty of every officer to take possession of a child under Article 63.00905(g).
(d) Subject to Subsection (e), in the course of investigating an alleged criminal offense, a peace officer may inquire as to the nationality or immigration status of a victim of or witness to the offense only if the officer determines that the inquiry is necessary to:
(1) investigate the offense; or
(2) provide the victim or witness with information about federal visas designed to protect individuals providing assistance to law enforcement.
(e) Subsection (d) does not prevent a peace officer from:
(1) conducting a separate investigation of any other alleged criminal offense; or
(2) inquiring as to the nationality or immigration status of a victim of or witness to a criminal offense if the officer has probable cause to believe that the victim or witness has engaged in specific conduct constituting a separate criminal offense.
(f) On a request made by that office, a peace officer shall execute an emergency detention order issued by the Texas Civil Commitment Office under § 841.0837, Health and Safety Code.
Without reference to the amendment of this article, this article was repealed by Acts 2023, 88th Leg., R.S., Ch. 765 (H.B. 4504), Sec. 3.001(1), eff. January 1, 2025.
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