AB 2215: Criminal procedure: arrests.

Existing law requires that a person arrested without a warrant be taken before a magistrate without unnecessary delay. Existing law also provides certain circumstances under which a person arrested without a warrant may be released from custody before being taken before a magistrate, including, among others, when the arresting officer believes that insufficient grounds exist to make a criminal complaint against the person arrested or when the person is arrested for intoxication only and no further proceedings are desirable. Existing law requires the record of arrest of a person released pursuant to specified circumstances to include a record of release and that the arrest be deemed a detention.

This bill would authorize an arresting officer to release an arrested person from custody without bringing the person before a magistrate if the person is, subsequent to being arrested, delivered or referred to a public health or social service organization that provides services including, but not limited to, housing, medical care, treatment for alcohol or substance use disorders, psychological counseling, or employment training and education, the organization agrees to accept the delivery or referral, and no further proceedings are desirable. The bill would require that the arrest under this provision be deemed a detention.