Parents assume a police officer will enforce a parenting plan when the other parent refuses to comply and return the child to the other parent. In truth, that is completely false. Parenting plans are enforced by the family courts, not by law enforcement as a routine matter.
Police officers may intervene in emergencies when there is a clear risk to a child, but they are not permitted to enforce parenting plans and decide routine time sharing disputes. Law enforcement is limited to criminal behavior, but arguments over timesharing are civil, not criminal. Officers can remove a child from one parent and place them in the physical custody of the other parent only with an explicit court order, most commonly called a “Child Pick-Up Order” which includes enforcement directions to all law enforcement agencies.
So the next time your ex doesn’t return your child on time, don’t call 911 or even the non-emergency police number. Call a family law attorney who can file to enforce that parenting plan, and get you makeup time for any overnights missed as a result of the other parent’s wrongful with holding of the child.
