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Kissimmee Police is part of the State Attorney Office's Adult Citation program, with the hope it benefits both police and first-time offenders.
The Kissimmee Police Department will join two other local agencies in participating in a program that could keep firsttime offenders of certain lowlevel crimes out of jail.
Ninth Judicial Circuit State Attorney Monique Worrell announced last week the start of the Adult Civil Citation Program, which began a 90-day trial period Friday.
The program is designed to divert people charged with firsttime misdemeanor offenses away from the criminal legal system. Officers with KPD, along with the Orlando Police Department and the Orange County Sheriff ’s Department, may use their discretion to issue civil citations for certain misdemeanor offenses instead of making an arrest, jailing them and entering them into the court system.
KPD Deputy Chief Betty Holland attended the announcement, and said this program would benefit both law enforcement agencies and those first-time offenders.
“Maybe they just made a lapse in judgment,” she said. “We hope this will serve as a way to change their behavior, and this gives police the ability to get back out on the streets and respond to higher-priority calls.”
Only first-time adult offenders are eligible for this program. They must live in Osceola or Orange County (District 9), have ID or can be identified, and are not contesting the citation.
Those individuals who receive adult civil citations will be required to pay a program fee, participate in educational programs that may be specific to the offense, and complete community service. Once completed, the person will be issued a certificate, no criminal charges will be filed, and the case will be dismissed.
First-time misdemeanor offenses for which someone may receive an adult civil citation include: possession of drug paraphernalia; possession of marijuana under 20 grams; misdemeanor assault; misdemeanor battery (under some circumstances); retail theft of a shopping cart; trespass on property other than a structure or conveyance; petit theft; criminal mischief involving less than $100; disorderly conduct; littering; loitering; possession of alcoholic beverages by a person under the age of 21; and other misdemeanor offenses at the discretion of law enforcement and the State Attorney’s Office.
Cases involving domestic violence, cyberstalking, affray or riot, among other charges, will not be eligible.
Law enforcement is not allowed to use race, color, gender, ethnicity, age, income or disability as a factor for issuing a civil citation.
Worrell said the program may expand to other agencies after reviewing data from the program’s 90-day trial. She said she acknowledges the traumatic impact incarceration has on some individuals, and this program should reduce the case load for assistant state attorneys.
“Everyone deserves a second chance,” Worrell said. “The Adult Civil Citation Program will allow people to keep their humanity and dignity, decrease the chance of a negative interaction with law enforcement, and increase the likelihood that they won’t have future interactions with the criminal legal system.”
Orange County Sheriff John Mina said about 800 individuals in Orange County would have been eligible fo r the program in 2021.
