Article 5, Part 4 – Arrest and custody (705 ILCS 405/Article V, Part 4)
F. Seeking detention & the detention screening process:
When a minor is arrested for any serious offense, the law enforcement agency may seek detention for him or her. The criteria for holding a minor in a detention center are determined with what is called a "scorable instrument". Each county in Illinois has developed its own detention standards for crimes committed by minors under 18 years of age. The scorable instrument lists crimes and corresponding points for each crime. Counties refer to the scorable instrument when considering whether or not to hold a minor in a detention center pending a detention hearing (705 ILCS 405/5-415). The minor’s score is based upon any crimes for which he or she has been arrested as well as his or her personal history. Most counties require 12 points to hold a minor, except for Cook County which requires 15.
For example, a minor who has served time in the care of the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice (Department of Corrections) is considered to have 5 points based upon his past. An officer who works in a county with a 12 point requirement has arrested the minor mentioned above. He has committed a crime that is given 7 points based upon the scorable instrument, a drug possession/deliver offense, for instance. That 7 point crime plus the minor’s 5 points for his previous offense(s) total 12 points. At this point, the officer would call his or her local detention center to seek approval for the detention of that minor pending a detention hearing.
It is important to note that there may be situations in which officers will need to seek detention for minors who have not reached the required number of points. At such times, a “screening override” may be implemented. A screening override could be used when a parent refuses to pick up his or her child after an arrest. It could also be used in situations in which an officer is attempting to release a minor to a parent at home and the parent is away for an undetermined amount of time. If no other family member is available or able to take the minor, then the officer may call the detention center seeking placement for the delinquent minor. Remember, the minor must meet the definition of a delinquent minor who is not being held for a status offense.
The scorable screening instruments discussed above are reviewed each year by each county’s State’s Attorney’s office. For a minor arrested or taken into custody for vehicular hijacking or aggravated vehicular hijacking, a previous finding of delinquency for vehicular hijacking or aggravated vehicular hijacking shall be given greater weight in determining whether secured custody of a minor is a matter of immediate and urgent necessity for the protection of the minor or of the person or property of another. If a probation officer or detention officer (or other public officer designated by the court in a county having 3,000,000 or more inhabitants) does not intend to detain a minor for an offense which constitutes one of the following offenses he or she shall consult with the State's Attorney's Office prior to the release of the minor: first degree murder, second degree murder, involuntary manslaughter, criminal sexual assault, aggravated criminal sexual assault, aggravated battery with a firearm as described in Section 12-4.2 or subdivision (e)(1), (e)(2), (e)(3), or (e)(4) of Section 12-3.05, aggravated or heinous battery involving permanent disability or disfigurement or great bodily harm, robbery, aggravated robbery, armed robbery, vehicular hijacking, aggravated vehicular hijacking, vehicular invasion, arson, aggravated arson, kidnapping, aggravated kidnapping, home invasion, burglary, or residential burglary.
