The Attorney General of Texas 

July 8, 1982 

MARK WHITE 

Attorney General 

Supreme Court Building 

P. 0. BOY 12546 

Austin, TX. 7671% 2546 

512/475-2501 

Telex 9101674-1367 

Telecopier 5121475-0266 

1607 Main St., Suite 1400 

Dallas, TX. 75201.4709 

2141742.6944 

4624 Alberta Ave., Suite 160 

El Paso, TX. 79005-2793 

9151533.3464 

1220 Dallas Ave., Suite 202 

Houston, TX. 770026966 

7131650-0666 

606 Broadway, Suite 312 

Lubbock, TX. 79401.3479 

6061747-5236 

4309 N. Tenth. Suite B 

McAllen, TX. 76501-1665 

5121662.4547 

200 Main Plaza, Suite 400 

San Antonio, TX. 76205.2797 

5121225-4191 

An Equal Opportunity/ 

Affirmative Action Employer 

Honorable Jerry Bhackelford 

Chairman 

opinion No.MW-491 

Texas Juvenile Probation Commission Re: Whether Deaf Smith County 

309 Potter County Courthouse =Y continue to employ a 

Amarillo, Texas 79101 juvenile peace officer 

Dear Judge Shackelford: 

You recently requested an interpretation of House Bill No. 1704. 

which became effective on September 1, 1981 and is codified as Human 

Resources Code sections 75.001, et seq. 

You ask: 

1. Does section- 75.042(f) repeal the 

authority of the Deaf Smith County Juvenile Board 

to employ a juvenile peace officer under articles 

5139DDD and 5142, V.T.C.S.? 

2. If such authority does remain in effect, 

is the Deaf Smith County Juvenile Board in 

compliance with House Bill No. 1704, by combining 

both of the titles as equal positions, under the 

same office, including the sharing of files, 

budget, etc.? If not, do the statutes require 

separate and distinct offices under the juvenile 

board? 

In order to answer your questions, it is necessary to analyze the 

statutes to determine what each authorized. We will also discuss the 

custom and practice with respect to allocating duties between juvenile 

officers which counties have followed. 

Article 5142, V.T.C.S., was enacted in 1919, and originally 

provided for the appointment of "probation officers." It was amended 

in 1927 to apply to "juvenile officers." The duties, of these officers 

were enumerated in article 5142: 

Such officers shall have authority and it shall 

be their duty to make investigations of all cases 

referred to them as such by such Board; to be 

p. 1745 
Honorable Jerry Shackelford - Page 2 (MW-491) 

present in court and to represent the interest of 

the juvenile when the case is heard, and to 

furnish to the court and such Board any 

information and assistance as such Board may 

require, and to take charge of any child before 

and after the trial and to perform such other 

services for the child as may be required by the 

court or said Board, and such juvenile officers 

shall be vested with all the power and authority 

of police officers or sheriffs incident to their 

offices. (Emphasis added). 

Article 5142 has not been expressly repealed. A juvenile officer with 

the powers enumerated in this provision has the authority of a peace 

officer. Attorney General Opinion H-1157 (1978). 

The duties of the juvenile officer along with his title indicate 

that juvenile officers would have the responsibilities of both a peace 

officer and of a child's advocate. See, e.g., In re S.E.B., 514 

S.W.2d 948 (Tex. Civ. App. - El Paso 1974, no writ) (a juvenile 

officer may make arrest without a warrant for any offense committed 

within his presence or view); Attorney General Opinion O-7332 (1946) 

(a juvenile officer has the legal right to carry a gun in the 

discharge of official duty). Both responsibilities were to lie in one 

person, as shown by the provision in article 5142 for one juvenile 

officer in counties under 80,000 persons. Attorney General Opinion 

o-2997 (1941). 

Article 5139DDD, enacted in 1971, authorized the establishment of 

a juvenile board in the county of Deaf Smith, and permitted the 

appointment of a juvenile officer or officers. Section 3 of that 

article gave the county board the final determination of the 

qualifications for the position of juvenile officer. All the powers 

and duties described in article 5142 were expressly given to Deaf 

Smith juvenile officers. The legislature has not expressly repealed 

this statute. 

You have forwarded to us information indicating that a juvenile 

officer was hired subsequent to the passage of article 5139DDD. and 

that in 1979, the juvenile board divided that office into two 

positions: juvenile peace officer and juvenile probation officer. 

The juvenile peace officer is commissioned through the sheriff's 

department. It appears, however, from our examination of articles 

5139DDD and 5142, V.T.C.S., that juvenile officers in both positions 

would have the powers of peace officers, even though the board 

assigned them different responsibilities for administrative reasons. 

p. 1746 
Honorable Jerry Shackelford - Page 3 (m-491) 

You also sent us excerpts from the 1978 Texas Juvenile Probation 

Manual, which highlight the dichotomy which has arisen due to the use 

of the title "juvenile officer." It states in pertinent part: 

The usage of the term 'juvenile officer' is 

misleading. It is often used in reference to a 

police officer or deputy sheriff who works 

primarily with cases involving juveniles. Many 

Texas counties use the term to denote the officer 

who performs probation services for the Juvenile 

Court. The Texas statutes use the terms 

'probation officer' and 'juvenile officer' 

interchangeably. Juvenile 'police' officers -- 

derive their authority from their commissions as 

peace officers. Their responsibilities and power 

are exactly the same as for any peace officer, and 

it is only by departmental policy that they are 

assigned to juvenile cases. Juvenile 'probation' 

officers -- are juvenile court workers. Their 

work usually begins at the time of referral by the 

police officer, although in many communities their 

work overlaps that of the police officer. The 

bulk of their work lies in social investigations 

and social casework with the juvenile offender and 

his family. Their authority stems from a series 

of 'bracket laws,' the first of which was enacted 

in 1919. Prior to 1919, juvenile probation 

officers were provided for permissively. The 

Texas Juvenile Court Act of 1907 provided that a 

delinquent child could be committed to the custody 

of a probation officer or any proper person. 

Probation officers were required to be 'discreet 

persons of good moral character,' and they were to 

serve without compensation. (Footnote omitted). 

The manual also states that there is little uniformity among the 

provisions for juvenile boards, and that many counties have designed 

programs based upon social need rather than upon legislative 

authority. 

In 1981, the legislature created the Texas Juvenile Probation 

Commission and stated that: 

The purposes of this chapter are to make probation 

services available throughout the state for 

juveniles, to improve the effectiveness of 

probation services, to provide alternatives to the 

commitment of juveniles by providing financial aid 

to juvenile boards for the establishment and 

p. 1747 
Honorable Jerry Shackelford - Page 4 (Mw-491) 

improvement of probation services, to establish 

uniform probation administration standards, and to 

improve communications between state and local 

entities within the juvenile justice system. 

(Emphasis added). 

Section 75.001, Human Resources Code. 

Section 75.041 provides that the commission shall establish 

educational, training, and certification standards for juvenile 

probation officers. Section 75.042 establishes minimum standards for 

juvenile probation officers. It states in pertinent part: 

Sec. 75.042. Minimum Standards 

To be eligible for appointment as a probation 

officer, a person who is not employed as a 

juvenile probation officer on September 1. 1981, 

must: 

(1) be of good moral character; 

(2) have acquired a ,bachelor's degree 

conferred by a college or university accredited 

by an accrediting organization recognized by 

the Coordinating Board, Texas College and 

University System; 

(3) have either: 

(A) one year of graduate study in 

criminology, corrections, counseling, law, 

social work, psychology, sociology, or other 

field of instruction approved by the 

commission; or 

(B) one year of experience in 

full-time case work, counseling, community 

or group work in a social service, 

community, corrections, or juvenile agency 

that deals with offenders or disadvantaged 

persons and that is determined by the 

commission to provide the kind of experience 

needed to meet this requirement; and 

(4) have satisfactorily completed the 

course of preservice training or instruction, 

have passed the tests or examinations, and 

p. 1748 
Honorable Jerry Shackelford - Page 5 (Mw-491) 

of 

possess the level of certification as the 

commission may prescribe. 

Cd) The commission may make rules [for waiver 

graduate study or employment experience]. 

(e) [Requirements to be eligible for 

employment supervising probation officers]. 

(f) A peace officer, a prosecuting attorney, 

and any other person who is employed by or who 

reports directly to a law enforcement or 

prosecution official may not act as a probation 

officer or be made responsible for supervision of 

a juvenile on probation. A probation officer may 

not carry a firearm in the course of his official 

duties. (Emphasis added). 

Articles 75.041 and 75.042 may be harmonized with article 

5139DDD. which gives the Deaf Smith County Juvenile Board the right to 

final determination of the qualifications of juvenile probation 

officers. The board's discretion to make final determinations is 

limited, however, by the standards enumerated in section 75.042 or 

promulgated by the commission. The board's requirements as to 

qualifications may not fall below those stated in article 72.042 or 

promulgated pursuant to article 72.041. There is no implied repeal of 

article 5139DDD since section 75.042 does not deal with the 

establishment of juvenile boards and does not remove appointment 

authority from the board. The legislature has given a more precise 

standard for juvenile probation officers, however, and the new statute 

should be read to harmonize with the old. State v. Jackson, 370 

S.W.2d 797, 800 (Tex. Civ. App. - Houston 1963), aff'd 376 S.W.2d 341 

(Tex. 1964). 

Section 75.042(f) supercedes Attorney General Opinion O-7332 

(1946)s which held that a juvenile probation officer may carry a 

firearm. In comparing section 75.042(f) to article 5142, it is 

important to note that article 5142 provided only that "such juvenile 

officers shall be vested with all the power and authority of police 

officers or sheriffs incident to their offices." Section 75.042(f) 

prohibits the employment of peace officers, but does not revoke the 

power vested in juvenile probation officers, except the authority to 

carry a firearm. Thus, article 5142, V.T.C.S., is repealed to the 

extent that it authorized juvenile probation officers to carry a 

firearm. Section 75.042(f), in establishing uniform standards as 

stated in section 75.001, clearly and unambiguously states that peace 

officers and any other person who reports to a law enforcement officer 

may not serve as juvenile probation officers. A "peace officer" 

within section 75.042(f) refers to someone employed by or reporting to 

p. 1749 
. 

Honorable Jerry Shackelford - Page 6 (Mw-491) 

a law enforcement agency. It does not refer to persons reporting to a 

juvenile board. A sheriff and his deputies are peace officers, 

article 2.12 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. However, a juvenile 

probation officer with the authority of a police officer or sheriff is 

not a "peace officer" within section 75.042(f) because he does not 

report to a law enforcement agency. 

You have informed us that the Deaf Smith "juvenile peace officer" 

is a peace officer who carries a commission through the Deaf Smith 

County sheriff. Since section 75.042(f) prohibits the employment of a 

peace officer as a juvenile probation officer, he may not serve in the 

latter capacity. It is therefore unnecessary to answer your second 

question. 

SUMMARY 

Under articles 5139DDD and 5142, V.T.C.S., as 

modified by sections 72.041 and 72.042(f) of the 

Human Resources Code, the juvenile probation 

officers employed by Deaf Smith County have the 

power and authority of police officers and 

sheriffs except that they may not carry guns. 

Since section 75.042(f) prohibits a peace officer 

from serving as a juvenile probation officer, a 

deputy sheriff may not serve in that capacity. 

mg 

Attorney General of Texas 

JOHN W. FAINTER, JR. 

First Assistant Attorney General 

RICHARD E. GRAY III 

Executive Assistant Attorney General 

Prepared by Patricia Hinojosa 

Assistant Attorney General 

APPROVED: 

OPINION COMMITTEE 

Susan L. Garrison, Chairman 

Jon Bible 

Rick Gilpin 

Maury Hexamer 

Patricia Hinojosa 

Jim Moellinger 

p. 1750