Originally published: . Volume 10, No. 7. Source pages: 8.
A new law, Act 290, expands the application of existing law to apply when the parent or legal custodian knowingly or willfully permits a minor to engage in the prohibited activities.
The existing law provides for the crime of improper supervision of a minor by a parent or legal custodian which prohibits a parent or legal custodian from negligently permitting a minor to engage in certain activities. Penalties included a fine of not less than $25 and not more than $250 for each offense, imprisonment for not more than 30 days, or both.
The prior law provided that whoever violated the crime of improper supervision of a minor by allowing the minor to be habitually absent or tardy from school without a valid excuse was subject to a fine of not less than $25 nor more than $250 for each offense, imprisonment for not more than 30 days, or both. As a minimum condition of probation the offender is required to participate in 40 hours of community service activities, counseling, or both.
The new law retains the existing law probation requirement but changes the prior law penalties to a fine of not more than $500, imprisonment for not more than 90 days, or both, and eliminates the specific prior law penalty which applied for improper supervision of a minor by allowing the minor to be habitually absent or tardy from school.
The new law directs the court to consider the totality of the circumstances including the best interest of the minor when imposing the sentence for a person convicted of improper supervision of a minor.
The new law authorizes a peace officer to issue a summons, in lieu of making an arrest, to any person who commits the offense of improper supervision of a minor unless: (1) The officer has reasonable grounds to believe that the person will not appear upon summons. (2) The officer has reasonable grounds to believe that the person will cause injury to himself or another, will cause damage to property, or will continue in the same or a similar offense unless immediately arrested and booked. (3) It is necessary to book the person to comply with routine identification procedures.
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