AGO 1949-51 No. 141.

• Case Date: October 05, 1949
• Court: Washington

Washington Attorney General Opinions 1949. AGO 1949-51 No. 141. October 5, 1949[Orig. Op. Page 1]PRIVATEAuthority of an officer appointed by the State Board of Prison Terms and Paroles to apprehend and hold in custody, without a warrant or formal order of revocation of parole, a parolee suspected of parole violation.An officer appointed by the State Board of Prison Terms and Paroles has authority to apprehend and hold in custody, without a warrant or formal order of revocation of parole, a parolee suspected of parole violation.Honorable Ronald R. Hull Prosecuting Attorney Yakima County Yakima, WashingtonCite as: AGO 1949-51 No. 141Dear Sir: We have your letter of September 20, 1949, in which you ask the following question: Does an officer appointed by the State Board of Prison Terms and Paroles have authority to apprehend and hold in custody, without a warrant or formal order of revocation of parole, a parolee suspected of parole violation? The conclusions reached may be summarized as follows: The officer does have such authority. ANALYSIS We must assume that the "officer" mentioned in your letter is a duly appointed, qualified and acting parole officer, all as provided by section 8, chapter 114, Laws of 1935, as amended by chapter 155, Laws of 1945 (10249-8 Rem. Supp. 1945). We must further assume that the "parolee" was a person who fell within the provisions of section 4, chapter 114, Laws of 1935, as amended by section 1, chapter 142, Laws of 1939 (Rem. Rev. Stat. Supp. 10249-4), and had been regularly paroled by the Board of Prison Terms and Paroles. Section 10249-4, supra, provides in part: "The Board of Prison Terms and Paroles may permit a convicted person to leave the buildings and enclosures of the penitentiary or the reformatory, as the case may be, on parole, * * * [Orig. Op. Page 2] "The Board of Prison Terms and Paroles shall have the power to establish rules and regulations under which a convicted person may be allowed to leave the confines of the penitentiary or the reformatory on parole, and shall also have the power to return such person to the confines of the institution from which he or she was paroled, at its discretion. "* * * "Such forfeiture of credits shall not be had except upon a hearing upon the question of such violation and upon the findings of the Board of Prison Terms and Paroles that such convicted person was guilty thereof, which adjudication shall be final. At such hearing such convicted person, unless outside the walls of the penitentiary or the reformatory, as the case may be, as an escapee and a fugitive from justice, shall be present and entitled to be heard and present evidence and witnesses in his or her behalf. "The written order of the Board of Prison Terms and Paroles, bearing the seal of that body, shall be sufficient warrant for all officers named in this section to take into custody any convicted person who may be on parole and retain such person in his custody until arrangements can be made by the Board of Prison Terms and Paroles for his or her return to the institutions from which he or she was paroled. "It is hereby made the duty of all chiefs of police, marshals of cities and villages, sheriffs of counties and all police, prison and peace officers and constables to execute any such order in the same manner as any ordinary criminal process. "* * * "The...