It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Sections 12-6-7.1 and 12-6-7.2 of the General Laws in Chapter 12-6 entitled "Warrants for Arrest" are hereby amended to read as follows:
12-6-7.1. Service of arrest warrants. -- {ADD (a) ADD} Whenever any
judge of any court shall issue his or her warrant against any person
for failure to appear or comply with a court order, or for failure to
make payment of a court ordered fine, civil assessment, or order of
restitution, the judge may direct the warrant to each and all sheriffs
and deputy sheriffs, the warrant squad, or any peace officer as defined
in section 12-7-21, requiring them to apprehend the person and bring
him or her before the court to be dealt with according to law; and the
officers shall obey and execute the warrant, and be protected from
obstruction and assault therein as in service of other process. The
person apprehended shall, in addition to any other costs incurred by
him or her, be ordered to pay a fee for service of this warrant in the
sum of one hundred dollars ($100). {ADD one hundred twenty-five
dollars ($125). Twenty-five dollars ($25.00) of the above fee
collected as a result of a warrant squad arrest shall be divided among
the local law enforcement agencies assigned to the warrant squad. ADD}
(b) Any person arrested pursuant to a warrant issued by a municipal court may be presented to a judge of the district court, or a justice of the peace authorized to issue warrants pursuant to section 12-10-2, for release on personal recognizance or bail when the municipal court is not in session. {ADD The provisions of this section shall apply only to criminal and not civil cases pending before the courts. ADD}
12-6-7.2. Warrant squad. -- (a) There is hereby established a statewide warrant squad which shall be known as the Rhode Island state fugitive task force, whose purpose is to arrest individuals for whom arrest warrants have been issued and remain outstanding.
(b) The warrant squad shall consist of a director, assistant director, up to four (4) additional members, whose title shall be task force agents, and such sheriffs and police officers as is hereinafter provided.
(c) All state, county, local law enforcement and criminal justice agencies may assign personnel to be members of the warrant squad to assist the director or assistant director. All personnel assigned to the warrant squad during their normal work hours shall be paid their regular salary by their respective departments and there shall be no reimbursement for these payments. The warrant squad shall be responsible for supervising the conduct of all law enforcement officers employed by it pursuant to this chapter and the state, and not the city or town, shall be liable for the actions of any municipal police officer which are committed on behalf of and under the direction and supervision of the warrant squad.
(d) Federal, state and local officers assigned to the Rhode Island state fugitive task force as fugitive investigators shall exercise the same authority as the statutory agents appointed under this section as long as the officer is under the direct supervision of the warrant squad. The authorization for local police officers acting under the authority of this statute shall be on file at the office of the Rhode Island state fugitive task force.
(e) The attorney general {ADD chief justice of the supreme
court ADD} shall appoint the director, assistant director and the four (4)
additional members of the warrant squad. The salary of the director and
the assistant director shall be set by the unclassified pay board. The
fees collected in the amount of one hundred dollars ($100) {ADD one
hundred twenty-five dollars ($125.00) ADD} assessed to the arrestee when
apprehended and brought to court shall be deposited as general
revenues. Each arrestee who has been apprehended by a member of the
squad shall be assessed the fee in the amount of one hundred
dollars ($100) {ADD one hundred twenty-five dollars ($125.00) ADD} in
addition to any other court costs imposed. All fees collected shall be
deposited as general revenues{ADD , and distributed consistent with the
provisions of section 12-6-7.1 ADD} .
(f) The Providence county sheriff shall make suitable office facilities available to the squad. The police departments of every city and town and the state police shall make available to the squad temporary detention facilities. All fees collected shall be deposited as general revenues.
(g) The warrant squad shall be under the authority of, and report to, the supreme court of the state of Rhode Island.
(h) The statewide warrant squad shall commence on September 1, 1989, and all state and local police, law enforcement and criminal justice agencies shall cooperate with the Rhode Island state fugitive task force in carrying out the provisions in this chapter.
(i) The Rhode Island state fugitive task force shall adopt and implement standards, policies, and regulations applicable to its scope and purpose of locating and arresting fugitives from justice.
(j) Persons appointed as director, assistant director, and inspectors must have completed a basic course for police or law enforcement officers at a certified federal (including military), state, or local law enforcement training academy or must document a record of equivalent qualifying experience in an on-the-job training program. Persons appointed to be either director or assistant director, must, in addition to the preceding, have three (3) years of law enforcement experience and three (3) years of law enforcement management or command experience or the equivalent.
(k) The director, the assistant director, and inspectors and officers assigned on temporary duty to the Rhode Island state fugitive task force may carry firearms, apply for and execute search and arrest warrants and subpoenas, serve summonses, and apply for court or grand jury process, and will have statewide authority to serve warrants to locate and arrest persons who are fugitives or who have failed to appear in state court for violations of Rhode Island general laws or court orders or who are fugitives located in Rhode Island from jurisdictions outside the state of Rhode Island, and may make arrests without a warrant in the execution of court orders for any offenses committed in their presence if they have reasonable grounds to believe that the person to be arrested has committed or is committing a crime cognizable under Rhode Island general laws.
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.
