47-5-116 - Installation of "Biddle guard" on vehicle transporting prisoner.
§ 47-5-116. Installation of "Biddle guard" on vehicle transporting prisoner.
(1) The term "Biddle guard" means a device or partition installed in a vehicle operated by a law enforcement officer which separates the front and rear passenger compartments.
(2) It is unlawful to transport a prisoner who is committed to the Department of Corrections in a vehicle which is not equipped with a secure Biddle guard. Each prisoner shall be restrained and a state, county, municipal or private correctional facility shall not release a prisoner into the custody of a law enforcement officer unless the prisoner is being transported in a vehicle equipped in accordance with this section.
(3) The Commissioner of Corrections, sheriff or chief law enforcement officer who is responsible for a vehicle in which any transportation in violation of this section occurs shall be assessed a civil penalty of One Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($1,500.00) which shall be collected by the Attorney General and paid into the State Treasury.
(4) The Commissioner of Corrections, sheriff or chief law enforcement officer who is responsible for a vehicle in which a prisoner is transported in violation of this section shall not be liable personally for any damages arising from injuries to persons or property caused by a prisoner who has escaped while being transported in violation of this section.
(5) This section does not apply to any vehicle used by a correctional officer for transporting prisoners on the grounds of a correctional facility under the jurisdiction of the department, to any vehicle used by a field officer of the Department of Corrections when taking a prisoner into the custody of the Department of Corrections or to any vehicle used to transport prisoners in work release programs.
Sources: Laws, 1989, ch. 380, § 1; Laws, 1999, ch. 525, § 1, eff from and after July 1, 1999.