Borough of New Wilmington, PA Peace and Good Order

A person who is a minor's biological or adoptive parent or who has legal custody of a minor (including either parent, if custody is shared under a court order or agreement);

A person who is the biological or adoptive parent with whom a minor regularly resides;

A person judicially appointed as a legal guardian of the minor; and/or

A person 21 years of age or older standing in loco parentis, as indicated by the authorization of an individual listed in Subsection 1, 2 or 3 of this definition, above, for the person to assume the care or physical custody of the child, or is indicated by any other circumstances.

PERSON

Refers to an individual, not to an association, corporation or any other legal entity.

PUBLIC PLACE

Any place to which the public or a substantial group of the public has access, including, but not limited to streets, highways, roads, sidewalks, alleys, avenues, parking lots (whether public or private), parks and/or the common areas of schools, hospitals, apartment houses, office buildings, transportation facilities and shops.

REMAIN

Refers to the following actions:

To linger or stay at or upon a place; and/or

To fail to leave a place when requested to do so by an officer or by the owner, operator or other person in control of that place.

TEMPORARY CARE FACILITY

A nonlocked, nonrestrictive shelter at which minors may wait, under visual supervision, to be retrieved by a parent. No minors waiting in such facility shall be handcuffed and/or secured (by handcuffs or otherwise) to any stationary object.

It shall be unlawful for a minor, during curfew hours, to remain in or upon any public place within the Borough, to remain in any motor vehicle operating or parked therein or thereon or to remain in or upon the premises of any establishment within the Borough, unless:

The minor is accompanied by a parent; or

The minor is involved in an emergency; or

The minor is engaged in an employment activity, or is going to or returning home from such activity, without detour or stop; or

The minor is on the sidewalk directly abutting a place where he or she resides with a parent; or

(5)

The minor is attending an activity sponsored by a school, religious, fraternity or civic organization, by a public organization or agency or by another similar organization or entity, which activity is supervised by adults, and/or minor is going to or returning from such an activity without detour or stop; or

(6)

The minor is on an errand at the direction of a parent, and the minor has in his or her possession a writing signed by the parent containing the following information: the name, signature, address and telephone number of the parent authorizing the errand, the telephone number where the parent may be reached during the errand, the name of the minor, and a brief description of the errand, the minor's destination(s) and the hours the minor is authorized to be engaged in the errand; or

(7)

The minor is involved in interstate travel through, or beginning or terminating in, the Borough; or

(8)

The minor is exercising First Amendment rights protected by the United States Constitution, such as the free exercise of religion, freedom of speech and the right of assembly.

It shall be unlawful for a minor's parent to knowingly permit, allow or encourage such minor to violate above Subsection B.

It shall be unlawful for a person who is the owner or operator of any motor vehicle to knowingly permit, allow or encourage a violation of above Subsection B.

It shall be unlawful for the operator of any establishment, or for any person who is an employee thereof, to knowingly permit, allow or encourage a minor to remain upon the premises of the establishment during curfew hours. It shall be a defense to prosecution under this subsection that the operator or employee of an establishment promptly notified the Police Department that a minor was present at the establishment after curfew hours and refused to leave.

It shall be unlawful for any person (including a minor) to give a false name, address or telephone number to any officer investigating a possible violation of this section.

Enforcement.

Minors. Before taking any enforcement action hereunder, an officer shall make an immediate investigation for the purpose of ascertaining whether or not the presence of a minor in a public place, motor vehicle and/or establishment within the Borough during curfew hours is in violation of above Subsection B.

(a)

If such investigation reveals that the presence of such minor is in violation of above Subsection B, then:

If the minor has not previously been issued a warning for any such violation, then the officer shall issue a verbal warning to the minor, which shall be followed by a written warning mailed by the Police Department to the minor and his or her parent(s); or

[2]

If the minor has previously been issued a warning for such violation, then the officer shall charge the minor with a violation of this section and shall issue a summons requiring the minor to appear in court.

(b)

As soon as practicable, the officer shall:

Release the minor to his or her parent(s); or

[2]

Place the minor in temporary care facility for a period not to exceed the remainder of the curfew hours so that his or her parent(s) may retrieve the minor; or

[3]

If a minor refuses to give an officer his or her name and address, refuses to give the name and address of his or her parent(s) or if no parent can be located prior to the end of the applicable curfew hours, or if located, no parent appears to accept custody of the minor, the minor may be taken to a nonsecure crisis center or juvenile shelter and/or may be taken to a judge or intake officer of the juvenile court to be dealt with in the manner and pursuant to such procedures as required by law.

Others. If an investigation by an officer reveals that a person has violated above Subsections sections C, D, E, and F and if the person has not previously been issued a warning with respect to any such violation, an officer shall issue a verbal warning to the person, which shall be followed by a written warning mailed by the Police Department to the person; however, if any such warning has been previously issued to that person, then the officer shall charge the person with a violation and shall issue a summons directing the person to appear in court.

Within one year after the effective date of this section, the Police Chief, or his superior, the Mayor, shall review this section and report and make recommendations to the Borough Council concerning the effectiveness of and the continuing need for the section. The report of the Police Chief or the Mayor shall specifically include the following information:

The practicality of enforcing the section and any problems with enforcement identified by the Police Department;

The impact and cost of the section;

Other data and information which the Police Department believes to be relevant in assessing the effectiveness of the Curfew Ordinance; and

Information from citizens regarding whether the section has been administered and enforced fairly, including information regarding the age gender and race of those charged or detained under the section.

KEEPER OF A DISORDERLY HOUSE

Editor's Note: This ordinance also provided for the redesignation of former § 167-2, Disturbance of the peace, as § 167-1B.

§ 167-3 Title; definitions; disorderly houses.

[Added 9-7-2004 by Ord. No. 474[1]]

Title. This § 167-3 shall be known and may be cited as the "Disorderly House Ordinance."

Definitions. As used in this § 167-3, unless the context indicates clearly a different meaning, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings as set forth below.

DISORDERLY HOUSE

Any place within the Borough where persons gather or abide and where the owner, lessee, tenant or person in charge permits, encourages or tends to encourage conduct that exposes any persons or property to an unreasonable risk of injury or harm, drunkenness, illegal consumption of alcohol, boisterous conduct, unseemly noise, fighting or other contact which disturbs the public peace or decorum, or promotes disorder and lessens the dignity of the community. Said definition shall apply whether the place is public or private, a building or any lawn or land in the Borough. All such places within the Borough of New Wilmington are hereby declared a public nuisance.

Any person, including a corporation or partnership, who is the owner, lessee, tenant or person in charge of any such house at the time when any of the acts defined above are permitted or encouraged.

INMATE OF A DISORDERLY HOUSE

Any person, not the keeper of a disorderly house, who lives and abides in such disorderly house or is employed at or attends a gathering in such a house, lot or other place, knowing that such house is a disorderly house as defined herein.

Maintenance prohibited, arrest of a violator. No person shall permit, keep, maintain or be an inmate of a disorderly house within the Borough of New Wilmington. Violators are subject to the penalties of this chapter upon conviction before a District Justice having jurisdiction.

§ 167-6 Tampering with public property and property and fixtures in streets, sidewalks and public grounds; removing material from such areas.

Editor's Note: This ordinance also provided for the redesignation of former §§ 167-3 through 167-9 as §§ 167-4 through 167-10, respectively.

§ 167-4 Use of firearms and air-propelled missiles.

No persons shall, except in necessary defense of person or property, fire or discharge any gun or other firearm or any air-propelled missile at any place within the Borough of New Wilmington, except upon an established shooting range that shall have been authorized and approved by the Mayor, and such other cases as may be approved from time to time by the Mayor. Any person who violates the provisions of this section shall be guilty of unlawfully discharging firearms and/or air-propelled missiles.

§ 167-5 Throwing snowballs, stones and other missiles.

It shall be unlawful for any person to throw any snowball or any ball or stone or other missile of any kind upon or onto any of the public streets or other public areas or sidewalks of the Borough of New Wilmington.

No person shall destroy or injure in any way whatsoever or tamper with or deface any public property of the Borough of New Wilmington or any grass, walk, lamp, ornamental work, building, street light, fire hydrant, water or electric or cable television fixtures or any signs on or in any of the streets, sidewalks, parks or other public grounds of the Borough of New Wilmington or take any earth, stone or other material from such areas or located near such areas for use on or for such areas.

§ 167-7 Tampering with location stakes and monuments.

No person shall in any manner interfere with or meddle with or pull, drive, change, alter, move, remove or destroy any stake, post, monument or other evidence of any elevation, grade, line, location, corner or angle in the Borough of New Wilmington made, placed or set or hereafter made, placed or set or caused to be done by the authorities of the Borough in any survey of or in any street or public ground in the Borough to evidence the elevation, grade, line, location, corner or angle of any street, sidewalk, curb, gutter, sewer or other underground utility, public work, matter or thing. Nor shall anyone in any manner interfere with such markers placed by private persons to mark boundary lines, building lines, setback lines, etc., in order to conform to the laws and ordinances of the Borough of New Wilmington.

§ 167-8 Tampering with warning lights, barricades and traffic control devices.

No person shall willfully or maliciously destroy, remove, deface, obliterate or cover up any lamp, warning sign or barricade or other traffic control device erected by the authorities of the Borough or by any person, firm or corporation doing work by permission of the Borough on any of the streets, sidewalks, bridges or other public areas of the Borough as a warning or danger to persons, including both vehicle and pedestrians, who may be walking, driving or riding in the vacinity.

§ 167-9 Fireworks.

[Added 7-6-2004 by Ord. No. 471[1]]

Except as hereinafter provided, it is unlawful for any person, partnership, association or corporation to offer for sale, expose for sale, sell at retail, or use or explode any fireworks.

The term "fireworks" shall mean and include any combustible or explosive composition or any substance or combination of substances or, except as hereinafter provided, any article prepared for the purpose of producing a visible or an audible effect by combustion, explosion, deflagration or detonation, and shall include blank cartridges and toy cannons in which explosives are used; the type of balloons which require fire underneath to propel the same; firecrackers, torpedoes, skyrockets, Roman candles, aerial fireworks, or other fireworks of like construction; and any fireworks containing any explosive or flammable compound or any tablets or other device containing an explosive substance. The term "fireworks" shall not include sparklers, toy pistols, toy canes, toy guns, or other devices in which paper caps containing 25/100 grains or less of explosive compound are used, providing they are so constructed that the hand cannot come in contact with the cap when in place for the explosion, and toy pistol paper caps which contain less than 20/100 grains of explosive mixture, the sale and use of which shall be permitted at all times, nor shall the term "fireworks" include toy cannons which operate on the principle of mixing calcium carbide, weighing less than 1/10 of an ounce, and water in the reservoir of the cannon and in which ignition results upon the creation of a spark.

The Police Chief of the Borough or his designated delegate may grant permits for supervised public displays of fireworks to be held within the Borough upon the following conditions:

An application must be made in at least 15 days in advance of the date on which the public display of fireworks is to be conducted.

The application shall show the location site where the fireworks are to be displayed and the security the applicant will employ to keep outsiders away from the area during the time any fireworks are contained in the area and to prevent anyone from taking any of the fireworks or being in the area when the fireworks are exploded.

The application shall state who is to supervise the display, who is working on the display and the experience and competence of such persons.

The application shall state what fire protection measures are being taken for the site in which the fireworks are to be exploded, including any surrounding areas where fireworks may come to earth not fully burned.

(5)

The application shall also state how the applicant will remove trash and unfired fireworks after the display and the security of the area until such is done.

(6)

The application may state an alternative date in the event weather does not permit the fireworks display on the original date applied for.

The application must be accompanied by a certificate of liability insurance with an insurance company authorized to do business in Pennsylvania, evidencing that the applicant has liability insurance for injury to persons and or property in a minimum amount of $500,000.

In the exercise of reasonable judgment, the Police Chief or his delegate may require modifications concerning the site and security and fire protection shown on the original application as a condition for granting the permit.

The applicant will be responsible for removing all trash and unfired fireworks from the site and must maintain security of the area until such is done.

The Police Chief, or his designated delegate, shall seize and remove or cause to be removed, at the expense of the applicant, all fireworks offered or exposed for display, or stored or fired in violation of this section.

Editor's Note: This ordinance also renumbered former §§ 167-8 and 167-9 as §§ 167-9 and 167-10, respectively.

§ 167-10 Applicability.

This chapter shall not apply to normal activities in connection with the construction, maintenance and repair of streets, sidewalks and other public grounds or structures and fixtures located thereon or to incidental results of work thereon or therein upon permit from or by authority of the Borough.

In addition to the foregoing, should any person be formally charged with a criminal offense under the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania arising out of conduct prohibited under this chapter,[1] such criminal charges under the laws of the commonwealth shall preclude the bringing of charges for the same acts under the provisions of this chapter.

Editor's Note: Various types of disorderly conduct are regulated by various sections of the Crimes Code (18 Pa. C.S.A. §§ 3304, 5502, 5503, 5507 and 6120).

§ 167-11 Enforcement.

[Added 9-7-2004 by Ord. No. 474[1]]

It shall be the duty of the police officers of the Borough of New Wilmington to enforce the provisions of this Chapter 167, including the duty to suppress and to close and keep closed any disorderly house, and to arrest all persons found therein, and if the keeper or any other persons within such disorderly house refuse to permit any officer of the Borough of New Wilmington to enter the same, the officer may enter the disorderly house or cause the same to be entered by whatever force is necessary, and to arrest, by issuance of citations or otherwise, all persons found therein.