(a) A person taking a child into custody shall within a reasonable time:

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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 37-1-115

  • Adult: means any person eighteen (18) years of age or older. See Tennessee Code 37-1-102
  • Child: means :
    (A) A person under eighteen (18) years of age. See Tennessee Code 37-1-102
  • Custodian: means a person, other than a parent or legal guardian, who stands in loco parentis to the child or a person to whom temporary legal custody of the child has been given by order of a court. See Tennessee Code 37-1-102
  • Custody: means the control of actual physical care of the child and includes the right and responsibility to provide for the physical, mental, moral and emotional well-being of the child. See Tennessee Code 37-1-102
  • Department: means the department of children's services. See Tennessee Code 37-1-102
  • Detention: means temporary confinement in a secure or closed type of facility that is under the direction or supervision of the court or a facility that is designated by the court or other authority as a place of confinement for juveniles. See Tennessee Code 37-1-102
  • 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.
  • Juvenile court: means the general sessions court in all counties of this state, except in those counties and municipalities in which special juvenile courts are provided by law, and "judge" means judge of the juvenile court. See Tennessee Code 37-1-102
  • Shelter care: means temporary care of a child in physically unrestricted facilities. See Tennessee Code 37-1-102
  • written: includes printing, typewriting, engraving, lithography, and any other mode of representing words and letters. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(1) Release the child to such child’s parents, guardian or other custodian upon a promise by such person or persons to bring the child before the court when requested by the court unless such child’s detention or shelter care is warranted or required under § 37-1-114; or
(2) Bring the child before the court or deliver such child to a detention or shelter care facility designated by the court or to a medical facility if the child is believed to suffer from a serious physical condition or illness that requires prompt treatment. A person taking a child into custody shall give notice thereof, together with a reason for taking the child into custody, to a parent, guardian or other custodian and to the court. If the child is taken into custody pursuant to the provisions of § 37-1-113(a)(3) prior to the filing of a petition, a petition under § 37-1-120 shall be filed as soon as possible but in no event later than two (2) days after the child is taken into custody excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays.
(b) If a parent, guardian or other custodian, when requested, fails to bring the child before the court as provided in subsection (a), the court may issue its warrant directing that the child be taken into custody and brought before the court.
(c)

(1) A law enforcement officer who has taken a child into custody for the commission of an offense that would be considered a misdemeanor if committed by an adult may, in that officer’s professional discretion, issue a citation in lieu of continued custody of the child. In issuing a citation pursuant to this subsection (c), the officer shall:

(A) Prepare a written citation, which shall include the name and address of the cited child, the offense charged, and the time and place of appearance;
(B) Have the child sign the original and duplicate copy of the citation. The officer shall deliver one (1) copy to the child and retain the other; and
(C) Release the cited child from custody.
(2) If the law enforcement officer determines that issuing a citation is appropriate but that circumstances surrounding the issuance of a citation indicate an immediate risk to the safety of the child, the officer shall make efforts to contact a parent, guardian, or legal custodian of the child to retrieve the child in lieu of or prior to taking the child into custody.
(d) Subject to the approval of the juvenile court, each municipal or metropolitan police department or sheriff’s department is authorized to create and administer its own juvenile diversion program to address citable juvenile offenses without court involvement. Each program shall be developed in consultation with the juvenile court, local school districts, and other community stakeholders, and shall be subject to the same conditions and limitations as informal adjustment pursuant to § 37-1-110.
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