(a) In this article, “child” means a person who is younger than 17 years of age.
(b) A peace officer taking a child into custody for a violation of a juvenile curfew ordinance of a municipality or order of the commissioners court of a county shall, without unnecessary delay:
(1) release the child to the child’s parent, guardian, or custodian;
(2) take the child before a justice or municipal court to answer the charge; or
(3) take the child to a place designated as a juvenile curfew processing office by the head of the law enforcement agency having custody of the child.

Terms Used In Texas Code of Criminal Procedure 45A.455

  • Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Justice: when applied to a magistrate, means justice of the peace. See Texas Government Code 312.011
  • Person: includes corporation, organization, government or governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, association, and any other legal entity. See Texas Government Code 311.005

(c) A juvenile curfew processing office must observe the following procedures:
(1) the office must be an unlocked, multipurpose area that is not designated, set aside, or used as a secure detention area or part of a secure detention area;
(2) the child may not be secured physically to a cuffing rail, chair, desk, or stationary object;
(3) the child may not be held for a period longer than is necessary to complete:
(A) identification;
(B) investigation;
(C) processing;
(D) release to a parent, guardian, or custodian; or
(E) arrangement of transportation to school or court;
(4) the office may not be designated or intended for residential purposes;
(5) a peace officer or other individual shall provide continuous visual supervision of a child while the child is in the office; and
(6) a child may not be held in the office for a period of more than six hours.
(d) A place designated under this article as a juvenile curfew processing office is not subject to the approval of the juvenile board having jurisdiction where the governmental entity is located.


Text of article effective on January 01, 2025

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