Cal. PEN § 13515.40
This is the official text of Cal. PEN § 13515.40, part of California’s Penal Code — defines crimes and sets criminal procedure in California.
Not legal advice. This page reproduces the official text of a government statute for reference only. Laws change, and how a statute applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.
Official statutory text
(a) The commission, in consultation with subject matter experts, including, but not limited to, law enforcement agencies, the Department of Justice Missing and Unidentified Persons Section, the California Health and Human Services Agency or its designee or designees, organizations with expertise in autism and wandering, organizations with expertise in Alzheimer’s disease and dementia and wandering, emergency management services agencies, and public transit agencies, shall, on or before January 1, 2026, develop guidelines addressing wandering associated with Alzheimer’s disease, autism, and dementia.
(b) The guidelines shall address, at a minimum, all of the following:
(1) Development of law enforcement investigational checklists.
(2) Protocols for deploying law enforcement agency resources, including, but not limited to, search and rescue dogs.
(3) Protocols for developing community awareness campaigns for wandering prevention and water safety.
(4) Technological solutions regarding all of the following:
(A) Wandering prevention devices.
(B) Proactive registries.
(C) Community alert systems.
(5) Coordination and communication protocols between law enforcement agencies and all of the following:
(A) Other local law enforcement agencies.
(B) First responders, including, but not limited to, emergency management services.
(C) 911 dispatch.
(D) Hospitals.
(E) Transportation systems.
(b) The guidelines shall address, at a minimum, all of the following:
(1) Development of law enforcement investigational checklists.
(2) Protocols for deploying law enforcement agency resources, including, but not limited to, search and rescue dogs.
(3) Protocols for developing community awareness campaigns for wandering prevention and water safety.
(4) Technological solutions regarding all of the following:
(A) Wandering prevention devices.
(B) Proactive registries.
(C) Community alert systems.
(5) Coordination and communication protocols between law enforcement agencies and all of the following:
(A) Other local law enforcement agencies.
(B) First responders, including, but not limited to, emergency management services.
(C) 911 dispatch.
(D) Hospitals.
(E) Transportation systems.
Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site
Dealing with a criminal defense matter in California?
See all California Criminal Defense lawyers
About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the
Open US Law dataset
(Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine
(Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.