420A.023 Authority of youth correction officers to exercise power of peace officer

(1) The Director of the Oregon Youth Authority may authorize an individual youth correction officer or group of youth correction officers to exercise the powers and authority of a peace officer in the supervision and custody of adjudicated youth and persons in the physical custody of the youth authority under ORS 137.124 (Commitment of defendant to Department of Corrections or county) or other applicable law.

(2) The authority of a youth correction officer acting as a peace officer under subsection (1) of this section includes but is not limited to:

(a) Preventing an escape from the grounds of a youth correction facility by a person in the custody of the youth authority; and

(b) Going beyond the grounds of a youth correction facility to:

(A) Pursue a person in the custody of the youth authority who is in the act of escaping from a youth correction facility;

(B) Search for a person in the custody of the youth authority who is in the act of escaping from a youth correction facility; and

(C) Recapture a person in the custody of the youth authority who is in the act of escaping from a youth correction facility.

(3) A youth correction officer acting as a peace officer under subsection (1) of this section retains the authority until the law enforcement agency that has general jurisdiction over the area in which the escape or attempted escape took place assumes responsibility for recapturing the person.

(4) The Oregon Youth Authority shall inform the appropriate law enforcement agency of the escape or attempted escape of a person in youth authority custody as soon as is reasonably practicable. [1995 c.422 §9; 2021 c.489 §140]

Source: Section 420A.023 — Authority of youth correction officers to exercise power of peace officer , https://www.­oregonlegislature.­gov/bills_laws/ors/ors420A.­html (accessed May 26, 2025).