What Section Of The Penel Codes Do CHP Memorize?

[malcolmjmuller2004]

Im sure that there are some of the Penel code that CHP use and then some that general PD use. Im just wondering if there is a difference or they both use them all.

[SweetTaterPie]

Im sure that there are some of the Penel code that CHP use and then some that general PD use. Im just wondering if there is a difference or they both use them all.

Hey MalcomJ:
CHP definitely specializes in California Vehicle Code, while police departments and sheriff's departments tend to be experts in the California Penal Code. Familiarity with a particular code book comes with studying and applying statutes. Individuals within a given department may be proficient with multiple code books from their own efforts, or perhaps from a specialized assignment that deals with statutes regularly cited in the course of their duty. Any officer, whether P.D., S.O., or CHP may find it necessary to use multiple codes to properly charge in a criminal investigation. For example, a drunk driver crashes and kills someone. A vehicle code statute, CVC 23153, covers the DUI portion, and a penal code statute (CPC 191.5 or CPC 192.5), dependent on the specific circumstances, may be used to cite the manslaughter portion. Similarly, a deputy sheriff or police officer may use vehicle code law in conjunction with other code, when applicable. Bottom line is: none of us know all of any of the codes. Our experience on the job aids us in researching code when it is unknown to us. Any layman can use the same techniques to achieve the same goal, knowledge.

[Mac]

We all use the same Penal Code (not Penel). PD/SO would be a lot more familiar with the sections covering things such as domestic violence because they deal with that kind of thing much more often than we do. CHP deals more with the sections like STP discussed - vehicular manslaughter, etc. However, pretty much everybody knows the "biggies" like 187 (murder), 211 (robbery), 459 (burglary), etc.

There are a lot of different codes we deal with - Vehicle, Penal, Health & Safety, Welfare & Institutions, etc. I don't know anybody who has them all memorized - that's what "cheat sheets" and "Redi-refs" are for. Heck, there are still VC sections I have to look up when I write them, just because I don't write them that often.

It's not as much a matter of memorizing things as it is knowing where to find them when you need them.

[bcjack]

A good place to look up those codes...

http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/calaw.html

[JoeyMac323]

What Section Of The Penel Codes Do CHP Memorize?

I was under the impression Officers in CA naturally know all the laws :cool:

[G-Man]

What Section Of The Penel Codes Do CHP Memorize?

I was under the impression Officers in CA naturally know all the laws :cool:


At the academy they make sure you know the basics (211, 242, 245, 422, 459, 273.5, 148, 647, 187, 192, 11357 H&S, 11350 H&S, 11377 H&S, etc.).

They do not expect you to recall every law from memory, but there are a few biggies that officers come across a lot more than others. The majority of classroom time is dedicated to the Vehicle Code and you are expected to have a working knowledge of it.

PS. it is spelled Penal Code, not Penel Code

[SweetTaterPie]

What Section Of The Penel Codes Do CHP Memorize?

I was under the impression Officers in CA naturally know all the laws :cool:


Joey:
There's as much a chance of your knowing the entire contents of the Encyclopedia Britannica, as us knowing all of the tens of thousands of code sections from the many codes found here...in California. There are twenty-nine separate books of codified regulations that I can recall, and there may be more still. The vehicle code itself has in the area of 40,000+ separate statutes. So, you can see that short of being an autistic savant, or possessing eidetic memory, a regular guy would be hard-pressed to know them all by number, much less by the entire language.

[Mac]

Okay, somebody - QUICK - without looking at the Codes or your Redi-ref....tell me the VC section for a non-blind person using a white cane in public.

How about the PC section for stealing the dead carcass of somebody else's goat?

...or the section for maintaining a house of ill-fame?

No cheating.....this isn't an open book test.....


....what? You don't have those sections memorized??? Drop and give me twenty! :badgrin:

[chico.medic]

How about the PC section for stealing the dead carcass of somebody else's goat?

I suspect sarcasm, but I've come across some pretty outrageous laws, so is that one real?

[bcjack]

CA PenAl Code...

596.5. It shall be a misdemeanor for any owner or manager of an
elephant to engage in abusive behavior towards the elephant, which
behavior shall include the discipline of the elephant by any of the
following methods:
(a) Deprivation of food, water, or rest.
(b) Use of electricity.
(c) Physical punishment resulting in damage, scarring, or breakage
of skin.
(d) Insertion of any instrument into any bodily orifice.
(e) Use of martingales.
(f) Use of block and tackle.

[bcjack]

Okay, somebody - QUICK - without looking at the Codes or your Redi-ref....tell me the VC section for a non-blind person using a white cane in public.

How about the PC section for stealing the dead carcass of somebody else's goat?

...or the section for maintaining a house of ill-fame?

No cheating.....this isn't an open book test.....


....what? You don't have those sections memorized??? Drop and give me twenty! :badgrin:

CVC

21964. No person, other than those totally or partially blind,
shall carry or use on any highway or in any public building, public
facility, or other public place, a predominantly white cane (with or
without a red tip).


CA Penal Code:

487a. (a) Every person who shall feloniously steal, take, transport
or carry the carcass of any bovine, caprine, equine, ovine, or suine
animal or of any mule, jack or jenny, which is the personal property
of another, or who shall fraudulently appropriate such property
which has been entrusted to him, is guilty of grand theft.
(b) Every person who shall feloniously steal, take, transport, or
carry any portion of the carcass of any bovine, caprine, equine,
ovine, or suine animal or of any mule, jack, or jenny, which has been
killed without the consent of the owner thereof, is guilty of grand
theft....:biggrin:

315. Every person who keeps a house of ill-fame in this state,
resorted to for the purposes of prostitution or lewdness, or who
willfully resides in such house, is guilty of a misdemeanor; and in
all prosecutions for keeping or resorting to such a house common
repute may be received as competent evidence of the character of the
house, the purpose for which it is kept or used, and the character of
the women inhabiting or resorting to it.