[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.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Graffiti — See Ch. 187.
Peace and good order — See Ch. 250.
Skateboards — See Ch. 302.
[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. 
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
APPREHENDING OFFICER
The person or official who was first informed of or discovered the whereabouts of the minor child standing in violation of this chapter.
LEGAL OR MORAL RESPONSIBILITY
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.
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).