[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council
of the Borough of Steelton 11-19-1990 by Ord. No. 90-3,[1] approved 11-19-1990. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also repealed
former Ch. 51, Curfew, adopted 8-12-1963 by Ord. No. 63-12, approved
8-12-1963, as amended.
This Chapter 51 shall be known and may be cited as the "Curfew Ordinance."
A.
This is a Curfew Ordinance prescribing, in accordance
with prevailing community standards, regulations for the conduct of
minors on streets at night, for the protection of younger children
in the Borough from each other and from other persons on the streets
during the nighttime hours, for the enforcement of parental control
and responsibility for their children, for the protection of the public
from nocturnal mischief by minors and for the reduction of the incident
of juvenile criminal activity, all for the good of minors, for the
furtherance of family responsibility and for the public good, safety
and welfare.
B.
Findings.
(1)
The Borough Council finds that a curfew is a very real local need, necessary as a significant factor and tool to minimize juvenile delinquency in light of the Borough of Steelton's local situation and facts, including the following: The Borough is located in the southwest portion of Dauphin County and is bounded by the Susquehanna River and the adjacent municipalities of Lower Swatara Township, Swatara Township and the Borough of Highspire. While containing residential, commercial and industrial areas, the Borough is essentially a residential community containing distinct areas of concentrated residential development. There is a general community sense of the need of cessation, at the proper time, of outdoor activities of minors on the streets, this sense being reflected in the curfew hours declared by this Chapter 51 which takes into consideration also the danger hours for nocturnal crime and for accumulations of minors with potential risks incident to immaturity.
(2)
The Borough Council finds that the Borough of Steelton is not overcrowded. The population density, as reflected through a compilation derived from the Borough of Steelton Comprehensive Plan, is 5.33 persons per acre. The total area is 1,216.22 acres. Of this, 180.23 acres are devoted to residential land use, 21.12 acres are devoted to commercial use, 705.82 acres are devoted to industrial use and 309.05 acres are devoted to other use. Population density is concentrated principally on the eastern side of the Borough from the northern Borough line to the southern Borough line. Recreational areas are provided in most of the densely compact residential areas; however, these facilities are generally closed for usage at times when the activities which this Chapter 51 attempts to prevent occur by minors who are running the streets.
(3)
The Borough Council finds that there are 1,084 minors
residing in the Borough of Steelton. The Borough of Steelton has two
elementary schools serving 873 minors. There is also a junior-senior
high school directly adjacent to the eastern Borough line serving
580 minors from the Borough itself.
(4)
The Borough Council further finds that the Borough
of Steelton population (1980 federal census and 1986 school census
compilation) is 6,484. There are approximately 2,250 households in
the Borough. The residential areas of the Borough are principally
stable family communities. Parental responsibility for the whereabouts
of children is the norm. As parental control increases, the likelihood
of juvenile delinquency decreases and there is a need for the nocturnal
curfew for the minors which will achieve, under local conditions,
the purposes hereinbefore stated.
A.
BOROUGH
MINOR
PARENT
REMAIN
STREET
TIME OF NIGHT
YEAR OF AGE
For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms,
phrases, words and their derivations shall have the meanings given
herein:
The Borough of Steelton, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, with
administrative offices at 123 North Front Street, Steelton, Pennsylvania,
17113.
Any person under the age of 18 or, in the equivalent phrasing
often herein employed, any person 17 or fewer years of age.
Any person having legal custody of a minor:
To stay behind, to tarry and to stay unnecessarily upon the streets, including the congregating of groups (or of interacting minors) totaling four or more persons in which any minor involved would not be using the streets for ordinary or serious purposes such as mere passage or going home. To implement that thought with additional precision and precaution, numerous exceptions are expressly defined in § 51-5 so that this is not a mere prohibitory or presence-type curfew ordinance. More and more exceptions become available with increasing years and advancing maturity as appropriate in the interest of reasonable regulation which is intended by use of the meaningful phrase "be or remain" found constitutional in Baker v. Borough of Steelton, 17 Dauph. 17 (1912), a decision properly classified in Thistlewood v, Trial Magistrate for Ocean City, 204 A.2d 688, 691 (MD 1964) as relating to a curfew ordinance of the remaining type.
A way or place, of whatsoever nature, open to the use of
the public as a matter of right for purposes of vehicular travel or,
in case of a sidewalk thereof, for pedestrian travel. The term "street"
includes the legal right-of-way, including but not limited to the
cartway of traffic lanes, the curb, the sidewalks, whether paved or
unpaved, and any grassplots or other grounds found within the legal
right-of-way of a street. The term "street" applies irrespective of
what it is called or formally named, whether "alley," "avenue," "court,"
"road" or otherwise.
Referred to herein is based upon the prevailing standard
of time, whether Eastern standard time or Eastern daylight saving
time, generally observed at that hour by the public in the Borough,
prima facie the time then observed in the Borough administrative offices
and police station.
Continues from one birthday, such as the 17th, to (but not
including the day of) the next, such as the 18th birthday, making
it clear that 17 or fewer years of age is herein treated as equivalent
to the phrase "under 18 years of age," the latter phrase in practice,
unfortunately, having confused a number of persons into the mistaken
thought that eighteen-year-olds might be involved. Similarly, for
example, 15 or fewer years of age means "under 16 years of age."
B.
When not inconsistent with the context, words used
in the present tense include the future, words in the plural number
include the singular and words in the singular number include the
plural. The word "shall" is always mandatory and not merely directory.
It shall be unlawful for any person 17 or fewer
years of age (under 18) to be or remain in or upon the streets within
the Borough of Steelton at night during the period ending 6:00 a.m.
and beginning:
In the following exceptional cases, a minor on a Borough street during the nocturnal hours for which § 51-4 is intended to provide the maximum limits of regulation (and a clear general guide for minors, their parents and their fellow citizens) shall not, however, be considered in violation of this chapter:
A.
When accompanied by a parent of such minor.
B.
When accompanied by an adult authorized by a parent
of such minor to take said parent's place in accompanying said minor
for a designated period of time and purpose within a specified area.
C.
When 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. Such minor shall evidence
the bona fides of such exercise by first delivering to communications
center personnel at the Borough Municipal Building at 123 North Front
Street, where and by whom high-priority messages to the Chief of Police
are regularly received, a written communication, signed by such minor
and countersigned, if practicable, by a parent of such minor with
their home address and telephone number, addressed to the Chief of
Police of the Borough, specifying when, where and in what manner said
minor will be on the streets at night (during hours when this chapter
is otherwise applicable to said minor) in the exercise of a First
Amendment right specified in such communication.
D.
In case of reasonable necessity but only after such
minor's parent has communicated to the Borough police station personnel
the facts establishing such reasonable necessity relating to specified
streets at a designated time for a described purpose, including points
of origin and destination. A copy of such communication or of the
police record thereof duly certified by the Chief of Police to be
correct, with an appropriate notation of the time it was received
and of the names and address of such parent and minor, shall be admissible
evidence.
E.
When the minor is on the sidewalk of the place where
such minor resides or on the sidewalk of either next-door neighbor
not communicating an objection to the police officer.
F.
When returning home by a direct route from (and within
30 minutes of the termination of) a school activity or an activity
of a religious or other voluntary association of which prior notice,
indicating the place and probable time of termination, has been given,
in writing, to and duly filed for immediate reference by the Chief
of Police or the officer assigned by him on duty at the police station,
thus encouraging (here as in other exceptional situations) conduct
on the part of minors involved in such activities and striking a fair
balance for any somewhat conflicting interests.
G.
When authorized by special permit from the Chief of Police carried on the person of the minor thus authorized, as follows: When necessary nighttime activities of a minor may be inadequately provided for by other provisions of this Chapter 51, then recourse may be had to the Chief of Police of the Borough, either for a regulation as provided in Subsection H or for a special permit, as the circumstances warrant. Upon the Chief of Police's finding of necessity for the use of the streets to the extent warranted by a written application (as judicially approved in People v. Walton, 161 P.2d 498, 502-503, Cal App. 1945), signed by a minor and by a parent of such minor, if feasible, stating: the name, age and address of such minor; the name, address and telephone number of a parent thereof; the height, weight, sex, color of eyes and hair and other physical characteristics of such minor; the necessity which requires such minor to remain upon the streets during the curfew hours otherwise applicable; and the street or route and the beginning and ending of the period of time involved by date and hour, the Chief of Police may grant a permit, in writing, for the use by such minor of such streets at such hours as, in the Chief's opinion, may reasonably be necessary. In an emergency, this may be handled by telephone or other effective communication, with a corresponding record being made contemporaneously, either to the Chief of Police or, if unavailable, to the police officer authorized by the Chief of Police to act on his behalf in an emergency, at the police station.
H.
When authorized by regulation issued by the Chief
of Police in other similar cases of reasonable necessity, similarly
handled but adapted to necessary nighttime activities of more minors
than can readily be dealt with on an individual special permit basis.
Normally, such regulation by the Chief of Police permitting use of
the streets should be issued sufficiently in advance to permit appropriate
publicity through news media and through other agencies, such as the
schools, and shall define the activity, the scope of the use of the
streets permitted, the period of time involved, not to extend more
than 30 minutes beyond the time for termination of such activity,
and the reason for finding that such regulation is reasonably necessary
to implement the purposes of this chapter.
I.
When the minor carries a certified card of employment,
renewable each calendar month when the current facts so warrant, dated
or reissued not more than 45 days previously, signed by the Chief
of Police and briefly identifying the minor, the addresses of his
home and of his place of employment and his hours of employment.
J.
When the minor is, with parental consent, in a motor
vehicle. This contemplates normal travel. From excess of caution,
this clearly exempts bona fide interstate movement through the Borough
of Steelton. This also exempts interstate travel beginning or ending
in the Borough of Steelton.
K.
When the minor is 17 years of age, if and when the
Chief of Police shall have determined, by formal rule first reported
to and approved by the Borough Council, spread upon its minutes and
so reported in the press, finding the facts as to the extent (minimal)
of juvenile delinquency in such age group permitting such rule, currently,
in the best interests of said minor and of the Borough, finding that
this chapter should be relaxed, then the Chief of Police, by such
formal rule, covering a period of time designated therein or until
rescission thereof not exceeding one year from the date thereof, may
take appropriate action excepting designated minors, minors in a defined
group or area or all minors (as the current facts may warrant) 17
years of age at the date or attaining 17 years of age during the period
that such formal rule is and remains in effect.
L.
Each of the foregoing exceptions and their several
limitations, such as provisions for notification, are severable as
hereinafter provided but here reemphasized; and additional, also severable,
exceptions, broadening with the progress toward maturity of minors
enrolled respectively in elementary, junior high and high schools,
will be considered by the Borough Council as warranted by future experience
illuminated by the views of student government associations, school
personnel, citizens, associations, ward, precinct and neighborhood
spokesmen, parents, officers and persons in authority concerned positively
with minors as well as with juvenile delinquency.
It shall be unlawful for a parent having legal
custody of a minor knowingly to permit or by inefficient control to
allow such minor to be or remain upon any Borough street under circumstances
not constituting an exception to or otherwise beyond the scope of
this chapter. The term "knowingly" includes knowledge which a parent
should reasonably be expected to have concerning the whereabouts of
a minor in that parent's legal custody. It is intended to continue
to keep neglectful or careless parents up to a reasonable community
standard of parental responsibility through an objective test. It
shall, a fortiori, be no defense that a parent was completely indifferent
to the activities or conduct or whereabouts of such minor.
A policeman of the Borough, upon finding or
having attention called to any minor on the streets in prima facie
violation of this chapter, normally shall take the minor to the Borough
police station, where a parent shall immediately be notified to come
for such minor, whereupon they shall be interrogated. This is intended
to permit ascertainment, under constitutional safeguards, of relevant
facts and to centralize responsibility in the officer there and then
on duty for accurate, effective, fair, impartial and uniform enforcement
and recording, thus making available experienced supervisory personnel,
the best of facilities and access to information and records. In the
absence of convincing evidence, such as a birth certificate, a policeman
on the street shall in the first instance use his best judgment in
determining age.
A.
Police procedures shall constantly be refined in the
light of experience and may provide, inter alia, that the policeman
may deliver to a parent thereof a minor under appropriate circumstances,
for example, a minor of tender age near home whose identity and address
may readily be ascertained or are known.
B.
In any event, such policeman shall, within 24 hours,
file a written report with the Chief of Police or shall participate
to the extent of the information for which he is responsible in the
preparation by himself and the officer involved in such case and in
the filing of such report within 24 hours.
C.
When a parent, immediately called, has come to take
charge of a minor and the appropriate information has been recorded,
the minor shall be released to the custody of such parent. If the
parent cannot be located or fails to take charge of the minor, then
the minor shall be released to the juvenile authorities, except to
the extent that, in accordance with police regulations, approved in
advance by juvenile authorities, the minor may temporarily be entrusted
to a relative, neighbor or other person who will, on behalf of a parent,
assume the responsibility of caring for the minor pending the availability
or arrival of a parent.
D.
In the case of a first violation by a minor, if the
parent comes for the child, said parent shall be given a written notice
of said violation with a warning that any subsequent violation will
result in full enforcement of this chapter, including enforcement
of parental responsibility and of applicable penalties, and said parent
shall, upon receipt of said notice, sign a written receipt therefor;
if the parent does not come for the child, the Chief of Police shall,
by certified mail, send the aforesaid written notice to the parent.
Prevailing community standards and the real
internalization thereof or interpersonal sanctions therefor that in
practice count for much as to when minors should be off the streets,
reflected in this chapter, are hereby undergirded with the following
legal sanctions:
A.
If, after the warning notice pursuant to § 51-7 of a first violation by a minor, a parent violates § 51-6 (in connection with a second violation by said minor), this shall be treated as a first offense by the parent. For such first parental offense, a parent shall be fined $25 and, for each subsequent offense by a parent, the fine shall be increased by an additional $25, e.g., $50 for the second, $75 for the third offense. The District Justice,[1] upon finding a parent guilty, shall sentence the parent
to pay such fine and the costs of prosecution and, upon refusal to
pay such fine and costs, to be imprisoned in the jail of Dauphin County
for a period not exceeding 30 days. Every day that a violation of
this chapter continues shall constitute a separate offense.
[1]
Editor's Note: Now Magisterial District Judge.
B.
Any minor who shall violate any of the provisions
of this chapter more than three times shall be reported by the Chief
of Police to a society or organization whose purpose it is to take
charge of incorrigibles and delinquents, and proceedings shall then
be taken, under the Juvenile Act, 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 6301 et
seq., before the Juvenile Court for the treatment, supervision and
rehabilitation of such minor.
Severability is intended throughout and within
the provisions of this chapter. If any provision, including, inter
alia, any exception, part, phrase or term or the application thereof
to any person or circumstances is held invalid, the application to
other persons or circumstances shall not be affected thereby and the
validity of this chapter in any and all other respects shall not be
affected thereby. From excess of caution, the Chief of Police is authorized
to give advisory opinions, in writing or immediately reduced to writing,
which shall be binding and shall be adhered to by the police, until
the chapter is amended in such respect, interpreting terms, phrases,
parts or any provisions. Normally, such advisory opinions shall be
in response to good faith, signed letters addressed to him at the
Borough administration building, questioning as ambiguous, as having
a potentially chilling effect on constitutional rights specifically
invoked or as otherwise invalid, in all three categories with respect
to proposed conduct definitely described. This administrative remedy
must be exhausted prior to presenting to any court a question in any
of said three categories. The Borough Council does not intend a result
that is absurd, impossible of execution or unreasonable. It is intended
that this chapter be held inapplicable in such cases, if any, where
its application would be unconstitutional. A constitutional construction
is intended and shall be given. The Borough Council does not intend
to violate the constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or
the Constitution of the United States of America.
The Borough Council will continue its evaluation
and updating of this chapter.
A.
Accordingly, there shall be compiled and informally
reported to the Borough Council through effective channels (such as
the normal monthly distribution by the Borough Secretary to each Councilman,
the Chief of Police and the Borough Solicitor of noteworthy material)
all exceptional cases hereunder of reasonable necessity, the notices
of school and other activities, the Chief of Police's special permits
and the Chief's regulations hereinbefore authorized and the Chief's
advisory opinions, for consideration by the appropriate committee
and by the Borough Council in further updating and continuing evaluation
of this chapter.
B.
For the same reasons, as well as for the implementation
beyond these legal aspects of the basic purposes hereof, the Chief
of Police and relevant committees of the Borough Council through their
respective Chairmen in coordinated efforts shall work with existing,
any may organize, voluntary groups and shall stimulate volunteer leadership
in programs of research and of action dealing constructively on neighborhood
and local bases with juvenile delinquency and the prevention, control
or containment thereof in all its ramifications and with practicable
steps toward the good life and a better life for minors 17 or fewer
years of age and with the working of this chapter, community-wise
and in individual cases, as one much needed legal tool toward that
end as well as for continuing present protection of minors and of
other persons and of property and other persons and of property and
other interest important to the welfare of the people of the Borough
of Steelton.
