The emphasis of the District Attorney's Child Abduction and Recovery Unit is on the best interest of the child. Where those interests can be served by means other than criminal prosecution, those other remedies will be utilized.

Under Family Code section 3130, the District Attorney's Office may be appointed to assist the court in enforcing custody orders by locating abducted children by a non-custodial parent. Although the law allows for prosecution of an abducting parent under some circumstances in the absence of a custody order, the Child Abduction Unit strongly urges the victim-parent to obtain temporary custody so that when the missing child is recovered, he or she may be returned to the victim-parent.

When prosecution is in the best interest of the child and in the interest of justice, it is the policy of the District Attorney's Office to file felony charges so that extradition is possible. Once filed, charges will not be dismissed except where changed circumstances or facts unknown at the time of filing make a conviction unlikely or unjust. Cases will not be dismissed merely because the child has been returned to the custodial parent, even if the family situation appears to be stable.

When a person lawfully entitled to child custody resides in Ventura County, or the child was taken from Ventura County, prosecution will be considered regardless of the location of the suspect and the child. Under some circumstances, when the suspect and child are found locally, prosecution will be considered even though the person lawfully entitled to custody lives outside the county.

If a victim-parent wishes to have the unit review a case for criminal filing, he or she must first make a report to the law enforcement agency where the crime was committed. The law enforcement agency will then refer the case to the District Attorney's Office for review.

Cases involving violations of visitation rights will not be filed except in unusual circumstances. Such cases can result in the incarceration of the custodial parent and the child being placed in protective custody. This result is rarely in the best interest of the child, and better results can be obtained in the civil courts. Civil remedies are strongly encouraged because they are faster, more direct, provide a broader range of sanctions or remedies, and give the aggrieved party more control over the proceedings and final disposition. (Criminal cases will rarely be filed in situations where the aggrieved party has not exhausted his or her civil remedies.)

Victims who need information about child abduction problems may contact the Child Abduction and Recovery Unit at (805) 662-1755.