Section 5008.

(a) The department shall protect the state park system and the state vehicular recreation area and trail system from damage and preserve the peace therein.

(b) The director may designate any officer or employee of the department as a peace officer. The primary duties of the peace officer shall be the enforcement of this division, Sections 4442 and 4442.5, the rules and regulations of the department, Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 650) of Division 3 of the Harbors and Navigation Code, the rules and regulations of the Department of Boating and Waterways, Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 9850) of Division 3.5 of the Vehicle Code, and Division 16.5 (commencing with Section 38000) of the Vehicle Code and to arrest persons for the commission of public offenses within the property under its jurisdiction. The authority and powers of the peace officer shall be limited to those conferred by law upon peace officers listed in Section 830.2 of the Penal Code.

(c) The department shall protect property included in the California recreational trail system and the property included in the recreational trail system under Section 6 of Chapter 1234 of the Statutes of 1980 from damage and preserve the peace therein. The primary duties of any officer or employee designated a peace officer under this section shall include enforcement of the rules and regulations established by the department under subdivision (l) of Section 6 of Chapter 1234 of the Statutes of 1980 and the arrest of persons for the commission of public offenses within the property included in the recreational trail system under Section 6 of Chapter 1234 of the Statutes of 1980.

(d) Any person who violates the rules and regulations established by the department is guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be punished by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding 90 days, or by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both that fine and imprisonment, except that at the time a particular action is commenced, the judge may, considering the recommendation of the prosecuting attorney, reduce the charged offense from a misdemeanor to an infraction. Any person convicted of the offense after such a reduction shall be punished by a fine of not less than ten dollars ($10) nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000).

(Amended by Stats. 1987, Ch. 1027, Sec. 1.)