[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee
of the Township of Oldmans 1-4-1978 by Ord. No. 78-1 as Ch. 10 of
the 1978 Code. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Amended 10-24-1989 by Ord. No. 89-13]
It shall be unlawful for any minor under the
age of 17 years to loiter, idle, wander, stroll or play in or remain
in or be upon the public streets, highways, roads, alleys, parks,
playgrounds, public places, public buildings, places of amusement
and entertainment, places of business carried on for profit to which
the public is invited, vacant lots or other public places, either
on foot or in any vehicle, within the confines of the Township of
Oldmans between the hours of 8:00 p.m. on October 30 and October 31
of each year, which dates are more commonly known as "Mischief Night"
and "Halloween," respectively, and 6:00 a.m. the following day; between
the hours of 10:00 p.m. on all other weekdays and Sundays and 6:00
a.m. of the following day of each week; between the hours of 11:00
p.m. on all other Saturdays and 6:00 a.m. of the following day of
each week; provided, however, that the provisions of this subsection
shall not apply to any such minor accompanied by his parent or parents,
guardian or other adult person having the care or custody of such
minor.
It shall be unlawful for the parent or parents, guardian or other adult person having the care and custody of a minor under the age of 17 years to permit such minor to loiter, idle, wander, stroll or play in or remain in or be upon the public streets, highways, roads, alleys, parks, playgrounds, public places, public buildings, places of amusement and entertainment, places of business carried on for profit to which the public is invited, vacant lots or other public places, either on foot or in any vehicle, within the confines of the Township between the hours set forth in § 74-1 hereof; provided, however, that the provisions of this section shall not apply to any such minor accompanied by his parent or parents, guardian or other adult person having the care or custody of the minor or where the minor is upon an emergency errand or legitimate business directed by his parent or parents, guardian or other adult person having the care or custody of the minor.
It shall be unlawful for any owner or operator of any establishment as described in §§ 74-1 and 74-2 of this chapter to suffer or permit such minor to loiter, idle, wander, stroll or play in or remain in or be upon the premises and all other places as set forth in §§ 74-1 and 74-2 of this chapter during the times therein set forth, subject to the provisions contained in said sections.
A.
The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to
any minor below the age of 17 years who shall be gainfully employed,
who shall be a bona fide student of a school of evening instruction,
who shall be in attendance at a 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 the place of assembly and such minor's place of
residence.
B.
Should an emergency arise necessitating a minor child
under the age of 17 years 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 by this chapter,
such child shall have in his possession a note or message, in writing,
signed by a person of his household who is 18 years of age or over,
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.
C.
Any abuse of the purpose or spirit of this subsection
shall constitute a violation of the provisions of this chapter.
A.
Every official charged with law enforcement within
the Township is hereby authorized, empowered and directed to enforce
the provisions of this chapter, and it shall be a part of his official
duty and obligation to the Mayor and Township Committee and the public
at large to follow the directives prescribed in this section.
B.
It shall be the duty of the apprehending officer or
official 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 (i.e., parent, guardian, custodian,
etc.). Upon completion of a record of all salient facts available,
the apprehending official shall see that the minor is safely transported
to his place of residence. In all cases the apprehending official
shall report the facts within 24 hours to the Township Committee,
which 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 § 74-5, it shall be the duty of the Chief Special Officer 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 special officer or mailed by registered letter. For the purpose of this chapter, such notice, when duly produced and admitted as evidence in the Municipal Court of the Township, shall constitute an unequivocal basis for proceeding with a trial in which a second or subsequent violation hereof is the offense charged.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Former Section 10.07, Penalties,
which immediately followed this section, was repealed by Ord. No.
84-6.
