Adults who commit certain low-level misdemeanor offenses can be issued a civil citation instead of being arrested under a new 90-day pilot program announced Thursday by Orange-Osceola State Attorney Monique Worrell.
“This program will serve as a mechanism to ensure that individuals are incarcerated only when absolutely necessary to ensure public safety,” the region’s top prosecutor said at a press conference.
Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings said the adult civil citation program was one of 20 recommendations made by the county’s citizen safety task force, which included members from the state attorney’s office, public defender’s office and local law enforcement agencies.
“This is the right thing to do,” he said. “… These types of programs provide individuals with a second chance while holding them accountable.”
Similar to the juvenile civil citation program, law enforcement officers will be able to issue civil citations at their discretion starting April 1, Worrell said. Those who receive a civil citation will have to pay a $175 program fee, attend offense-specific educational courses and complete community service hours.
Once finished, adults in the civil citation program will be issued a certificate and no criminal charges will be filed against them, the state attorney said.
The program is only for those who are first-time offenders, according to Worrell. The eligible misdemeanors include possession of drug paraphernalia; possession of marijuana; misdemeanor battery or assaults; petty theft; trespassing on certain properties; criminal mischief; disorderly conduct; littering; loitering; and underage alcohol possession.
In some cases, victims will have to agree to a citation being issued, the state attorney said. Crimes involving domestic violence, stalking, cyber-stalking, cyber-harassment or an injunction violation will not be eligible for the citation program.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Office, Orlando Police Department and Kissimmee Police Department will be the three agencies participating in the pilot. Sheriff John Mina said about 800 people arrested by OCSO last year would have been eligible for the civil citation program.
“Our focus is on [the] production and prevention of violent crime,” he said. “This is just another way that we can help out some citizens and residents who have never been in any trouble before and prevent them from getting into the criminal justice system and give them that second chance.”
The program prohibits officers from making the decision to give out a citation instead of making an arrest based on an offender’s race, color, gender, gender identity, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, income status or disability, Worrell said.
A 2020 report by the Orlando Sentinel revealed inconsistencies in the use of the juvenile citation program across Central Florida counties, including a racial disparity.
“The reason that we’ve made [non-discrimination] a part of our policy is because we’re aware of the fact that historically these disparities exist,” Worrell said. “When we review the data from the program, this is something that we’ll be reviewing, and when we come to the point where we need to make any adjustments, we’ll take those things into consideration.”
mcordeiro@orlandosentinel.com
