[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the Borough
of Westville 9-24-1964 (Ch. 49 of the 1974 Code). Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Amended 1-13-1970]
It shall be unlawful for any person under the age of 18 years
to walk, ride, loiter, run through, wander or stroll through or remain
upon any of the streets, highways, roads, roadways, alleys, parks
or other areas or places open to the public in the Borough of Westville,
after the hour of 9:30 p.m., prevailing time, and before 6:00 a.m.,
prevailing time, unless accompanied by a parent, legal guardian or
some duly authorized and accredited custodian at least 21 years of
age who exercises control of such minor, except as hereinafter provided.
A.
APPREHENDING OFFICER
LEGAL OR MORAL RESPONSIBILITY
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
The person or official who was first informed of or discovered
the whereabouts of the minor child standing in violation of this chapter.
A custodial responsibility to a minor child, within the concept
of this chapter, owed by any person above the age of 21 years.
B.
Wherever in this chapter the nouns or pronouns relating to offenders
denote either the singular or plural, they may be construed to be
either singular or plural as the circumstances in any case shall dictate
for the attainment of the purposes hereof.
It shall be unlawful for any parent, legal guardian or duly authorized and accredited custodian having lawful care or custody of any child under the age prescribed in § 148-1 hereof to allow or permit any such child or ward to walk, ride, loiter, wander or stroll or remain unaccompanied on or about any of the streets, highways, roads or roadways, alleys, parks or other areas or places open to the public in the Borough of Westville within the periods and hours established and prohibited for use by a child or children of the ages aforesaid in § 148-1 of this chapter unless escorted or accompanied by a parent, legal guardian or duly authorized and accredited custodian, except as hereinafter provided.
The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to any minor
child who shall be gainfully and lawfully employed or to any minor
child who shall be a bona fide student of a school, college or university
of evening instruction, or to any child who shall be in attendance
at any evening function sponsored by a religious or school organization
or who shall be in attendance at a properly supervised recreational
program, during the time necessarily required to travel between such
minor child's residence and one or more of the aforesaid places
of assembly; provided, however, that the parent, legal guardian or
other duly authorized and accredited custodian must at all times be
ready to account for the travel period allowed hereunder and be responsible
for unforeseen incidents of serious consequences if such minor child
shall wander off the safest and most direct route of travel between
the child's residence and the said place of assembly.
Should an emergency arise necessitating a minor child under the age prescribed in § 148-1 hereof to be dispatched upon an errand requiring his presence upon any street, highway, road or roadway or any other place or area open to the public during the hours to which the use thereof by such unattended minor child is prohibited hereunder, such child shall have in his or her possession a note or message in writing, signed by a person of his or her household over the age of 21, stating the nature of the errand, the necessity therefor, the place or destination at which the mission is to be accomplished, the time such message was executed and the approximate time required for the errand. Any abuse of the purpose or spirit of this section shall constitute a violation of the provisions of this chapter, punishable as hereinafter provided.
Every member of the Police Department of the Borough of Westville and all other officials charged with law enforcement within said Borough are hereby authorized, empowered and directed to enforce the provisions of this chapter, and it shall be a part of their official duty and obligation to the Mayor and Council and the public at large to follow the directives prescribed in §§ 148-7 and 148-8 hereof.
A.
The first duty of the apprehending officer or official shall be to
take the minor child into protective custody. He shall then make a
complete record of the circumstances under which the child was first
seen and discovered in an apparent violation of the purposes of this
chapter, and such record shall include the name and address of the
minor child, the names and addresses of all persons who have either
legal or moral responsibility for the minor child's well-being
and the category of such responsibility (that is, parent, guardian,
custodian, etc.).
B.
Upon completion of a record of all salient facts available, the apprehending
official shall either order the minor child to return to his home
or place of residence forthwith or personally accompany such minor
child to his said place of abode or notify a parent, guardian or authorized
custodian to call for said child, depending upon all the facts and
extremities of the case.
C.
In all cases the apprehending official shall report the facts within
24 hours to the Chief of Police of the Borough of Westville, who in
turn shall cause all pertinent allegations, facts and circumstances
to be recorded as a permanent record for future reference.
Upon receipt of the report required in the preceding section,
it shall be the duty of said Chief of Police to serve a formal notice
upon all persons whose names appear in the report of the apprehending
officer or official or in any inquiry made as a result of such report,
who have or seem to have any legal or moral responsibility for the
well-being of the minor child involved, that there has been a violation
of this chapter. The notice prescribed shall be captioned "Notice
of First Violation of Curfew Ordinance" and shall contain all pertinent
facts in any given case. Such notice may be served personally by any
member of the Police Department or mailed by registered letter. For
the purposes of this chapter, such notice, when duly produced and
admitted as evidence in the Municipal Court of the Borough of Westville,
shall constitute a basis for proceeding with a trial in which a second
or subsequent violation hereof is the offense charged.
[Amended 9-13-1977[1]]
Upon the second or subsequent violation of the provisions of this chapter either by a minor child under the age prescribed in § 148-1 hereof or by any parent, legal guardian or otherwise duly authorized and accredited custodian having lawful care or custody of such minor child, the Chief of Police of the Borough of Westville shall cause an appropriate summons to be issued calling for the appearance of the said minor child and all persons who appear to have either a legal or moral responsibility for the care and welfare of such child, and any of the persons in any of the categories specified in this section shall, upon conviction of any violation of this chapter in the Municipal Court of the Borough of Westville, be required to perform community service and may be subject to a fine of up to $1,000. If both a minor child and the minor child's parent or guardian violate this chapter, they shall be required to perform community service together.
