SECTION 1. Chapter 276 of the General Laws, as appearing in 2020 Official Edition, is hereby amended by adding the following sections:-
Section 22A. Arrest warrants issued by a justice, pursuant to section 21 of chapter 276, or a clerk, pursuant to section 33 of chapter 218, shall be classified as discretionary or non-discretionary.
The classification of discretionary shall be limited to subjects who do not pose a credible risk of danger to an individual or the public.
Section 22B. Law enforcement officers may arrest or may delay or dispense with the arrest of a person who is subject to arrest under a discretionary warrant, provided, in the event of a non-arrest decision, the officer:
(i)gives the subject of the warrant written notice with the date, time, and location of the court where he or she must appear to remove the warrant;
(ii)documents the circumstances in an incident report in accordance with the standards of the officer’s law enforcement agency; and
(iii)ensures that a copy of the incident report is furnished to the court of jurisdiction for the underlying arrest warrant.
Law enforcement officers must arrest the subject of any warrant classified as non-discretionary.
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