The University of North Carolina at Greensboro Police Department
	General Order 3-1.7	Habitual Offenders

1. Habitual/Serious Offenders
   
   The habitual or serious offender constitutes a persistent problem for law enforcement agencies. The UNCG Police Department has established criteria for determining habitual or serious offenders as defined by North Carolina General Statutes and the Guilford County District Attorney's Office. It will be the responsibility of the Support Services Commander or designee within the Criminal Investigation Unit to identify such individuals and the related cases to which they are parties and to consult with the Guilford County District Attorney's Office as to how the cases should be prepared for trial. This identification will be based upon the following definitions and established criteria of the Guilford County District Attorney's Office.
2. Habitual Felon
   
   Habitual felons are those individuals who have previously been convicted, pled guilty and/or no contest to three felony charges in any state or federal court (or any combination of the two) in the United States (G.S. §14-7.1). Being a habitual felon is not a crime but is a status; it is not a substantive offense but is a punishment enhancement procedure for a defendant who commits a felony (and is convicted) while a habitual felon, State v. Allen, 292 N.C. 431 (1977).
   
   Only prior felonies are considered for habitual offender status. However, felony offenses which are not considered felonies for purposes of this provision are those federal felonies involving intoxicating liquor (the manufacture, possession, sale of and related offenses), those felonies which have been pardoned, and felonies in which the defendant pled guilty or was convicted before July 6, 1967. In addition, only one felony committed by the defendant before their eighteenth birthday may be considered as a prior felony under this provision.
   
   Only those felony offenses to which the defendant pled guilty or was convicted (regardless of the sentence actually imposed) are considered prior felonies for purposes of this offense. While there has been no direct ruling, it is clear that a felony on which judgment was entered following a no contest plea is also considered a prior felony, if the plea was entered on or after July 1, 1975 [State v. Outlaw, 326 N.C. 467 (1990), State v. Petty, 100 N.C. App. 465 (1990)]. A felony on which prayer for judgment was continued may be considered a prior felony for habitual felon status if the defendant entered a plea of guilty to the charge as defined in statutory language in G.S. §14-7.
   
   The defendant must have pled guilty to or have been convicted of three felonies before commission of the felony with which the defendant is currently charged and which accompanies the pending habitual felon charge. Each of the three prior felonies must have been committed after the pleas of guilty or no contest or conviction of the felony before it (e.g. the second felony must have been committed after the conviction for the first, etc.).
3. Habitual Offender – Misdemeanor Assault
   
   A person commits the offense of habitual misdemeanor assault if that person violates any of the provisions of G.S. §14-33 and causes physical injury, or G.S. §14-34, and has two or more prior convictions for either misdemeanor or felony assault, with the earlier of the two prior convictions occurring no more than 15 years prior to the date of the current violation. A conviction under this section shall not be used as a prior conviction for any other habitual offense statute. A person convicted of violating this section is guilty of a Class H felony. (1995, c. 507, s. 19.5(c); 2004-186, s. 10.1.)
4. Serious Offenders
   
   Serious offenders are those felons who have established, or are beginning to establish, a pattern of criminal conduct that represents a special danger to the community. This usually consists of multiple offenses of the same type. In determining whether a pattern of criminal conduct exists, investigating officers should utilize a criminal information check with the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation's Division of Criminal Information (Persons, Criminal History Inquiry) and the North Carolina Administrative Office of the Court inquiry. Any person whose criminal record exhibits such a history of multiple offenses or a pattern of criminal conduct should be considered a potential serious offender. Investigating officers, whether in the field or in the Criminal Investigation Unit, will refer the information to the Support Services Commander.
5. Screening Criteria – Guilford County District Attorney's Office
   
   The UNCG Police Department, through the Support Services Commander, will contact the Guilford County District Attorney's Office for coordinating the status of persons designated as habitual and serious offenders.
   
   The Guilford County District Attorney's Office has established the following criteria for an offender to be classified as a multiple offender:
   • A felony conviction within 10 years; and
   • A second felony conviction without regard to the age of the conviction; or
   • Special circumstances, which indicate that the offender is a recidivist. This may include:
     • Offender on parole at the time they committed the pending felony
     • Offender on probation at the time they committed the pending felony
     • Offender on escape at the time they committed the pending felony
     • An indication that the offender has committed other felonies, which were reduced in district court due to plea-bargaining
     • An extensive misdemeanor record, especially when the misdemeanors are closely related to the pending felony (e.g. numerous prior misdemeanor breaking or entering charges and a pending felony breaking and entering)
     • Offender was on pre-trial release for other offenses at the time they committed this offense.
6. Identification and Referral of Cases
   
   It will be the responsibility of the Support Services Commander or designee to screen cases assigned to the Criminal Investigation Unit to determine if an offender meets the criteria of a habitual/serious offender. If a person meets the criteria of a habitual or serious offender as defined under G.S. §14-7.1 and G.S. §14-33.2, the Support Services Commander will ensure that the Guilford County District Attorney's Office is contacted to assist with the preparation of the case for prosecution.