ASSEMBLY, No. 627

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 1996 SESSION

By Assemblyman IMPREVEDUTO and Assemblywoman QUIGLEY

An Act concerning correction officers and amending R.S.39:5-25.

    Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

    1. R.S.39:5-25 is amended to read as follows:

    39:5-25. Any constable, sheriff's officer, police officer, peace officer, state correction officer, county correction officer, or the director may, without a warrant, arrest any person violating in his presence any provision of chapter 3 of this Title, or any person, other than a motorman or person having control of a street car or auto bus, running upon a route approved by the Board of Public Utilities, violating in his presence any provision of chapter 4 of this Title. The exemption from arrest of a motorman or person having control of a street car or auto bus, as conferred herein, shall not operate to prevent his arrest, however, for a violation of R.S.39:4-50. The arresting officer shall bring any person so arrested before any judge of the municipal court of the municipality wherein the offense is committed, or before the director at any place designated as his office. If the arrest is for a violation of R.S.39:4-50, the arresting officer may, if no judge, clerk or deputy clerk is available, detain the person arrested, either in any police station, lockup or other place maintained by any municipality for the detention of offenders or in the common jail of the county, for such reasonable time as will permit the arresting officer to obtain a warrant for the offender's further detention, which temporary detention shall not exceed 24 hours from the time of the arrest. If the arrest is for a violation of any other provision of this subtitle, the person arrested shall be detained in the police station or municipal court until the arresting officer makes a complaint and a warrant issues.

    Any constable, sheriff's officer, police officer, peace officer, state correction officer, county correction officer, or the director may, instead of arresting an offender as herein provided, serve upon him a summons.

(cf: P.L.1983, c.563, s.1)

    2. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

    This bill authorizes State and county correction officers to serve a summons upon or, without a warrant, arrest any person violating in his presence provisions of Chapters 3 and 4 of Title 39, the State motor vehicle code. These chapters deal generally with licensing registration, equipment and traffic laws. Currently, constables, sheriff's officers, police officers, peace officers, and the Director of the Division of Motor Vehicles have this authority.

Authorizes correction officers to enforce motor vehicle laws.