Peace officers: firearms.

Existing law designates various persons as peace officers, including probation officers, parole officers, and parole agents, and provides that their authority extends to certain duties, including to the conditions of parole, probation, mandatory supervision, or postrelease community supervision of a person in the state on parole, probation, mandatory supervision, or postrelease community supervision, the escape of an inmate or ward from a state or local institution, the transportation of persons on parole, probation, or postrelease community supervision, and violations of law that are discovered while performing his or her duties. Existing law categorizes a probation officer as a peace officer who may carry firearms only if authorized by his or her employing agency, and under the terms and conditions specified by his or her employing agency. This bill would authorize any probation officer or deputy probation officer to carry firearms as determined by the chief probation officer on a case-by-case or unit-by-unit basis and under terms and conditions specified by the chief probation officer. The bill would require certain chief probation officers to develop a policy as to whether probation officers and deputy probation officers who supervise high-risk caseloads should be armed. That policy would be required to be adopted no later than June 30, 2015, and would be required to be implemented no later than December 31, 2015, if the chief probation officer has not armed or has not adopted a policy regarding arming probation officers or deputy probation officers prior to January 1, 2015. The bill would define a high-risk caseload as a caseload that includes individuals who have been released from state prison subject to postrelease community supervision and have a prior conviction for a serious felony or violent felony. By imposing new duties on counties, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.