[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors of the Township
of Union at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions,
Art. I). Amendments noted where applicable.]
This chapter shall be known as the "Curfew Ordinance."
The purpose of this chapter is to:
A.
Promote the general welfare and protect the general public through
the reduction of juvenile violence and crime within the Borough;
B.
Promote the safety and well-being of the Borough's youngest
citizens, persons under the age of 17, whose inexperience renders
them particularly vulnerable to becoming participants in unlawful
activities, particularly unlawful drug activities, and to being victimized
by older perpetrators of crime; and
C.
Foster and strengthen parental responsibility for children.
As used within this chapter, the following words and phrases
shall have the meanings ascribed to them below:
The hours of 12:01 a.m. through 5:00 a.m. on Monday through
Friday, and 1:00 a.m. through 5:00 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
Unforeseen circumstances, or the status or condition resulting
therefrom, requiring immediate action to safeguard life, limb or property.
The term includes, but is not limited to, fires, natural disasters,
automobile accidents or other similar circumstances.
Any privately owned place of business within the Township
operated for a profit, to which the public is invited, including but
not limited to any place of amusement or entertainment. With respect
to such establishment, the term "operator" shall mean any person and
any firm, association, partnership (and the members or partners thereof)
and/or any corporation (and the officers thereof) conducting or managing
that establishment.
Any person under 17 years of age who has not been emancipated
by court order.
A police or other law enforcement officer charged with the
duty of enforcing the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and/or
ordinances of the Township.
A person who is a minor's biological or adoptive parent
and 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 parent with whom a minor regularly
resides;
A person judicially appointed as a legal guardian of the minor;
and/or
Refers to an individual, not to any association, corporation
or any other legal entity.
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, parks and/or common areas of schools,
hospitals, apartment houses, office buildings, transportation facilities
and shops.
The following actions:
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.
A.
It shall be unlawful for a minor, during curfew hours, to remain
in or upon any public place within the Township, 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:
(1)
The minor is accompanied by a parent; or
(2)
The minor is involved in an emergency; or
(3)
The minor is engaged in an employment activity, or is going to or
returning home from such activity without detour or stop; or
(4)
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
or civic organization, by a public organization or agency, or by another
similar organization or entity, which activity is supervised by adults;
and/or the minor is going to or returning from such an activity without
detour or stop; or
(6)
The minor is on an errand at the discretion 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 Township; 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.
B.
It shall be unlawful for a minor's parent to knowingly permit, allow or encourage such minor to violate Subsection A above.
C.
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 Subsection A above.
D.
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.
E.
It shall be unlawful for any person (including any minor) to give
a false name, address or telephone number to any officer investigating
a possible violation of this chapter.
A.
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 Township during curfew hours is a violation of § 116-4A.
(1)
If such investigation reveals that the presence of such minor is in violation of § 116-4A, then:
(a)
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
(b)
If the minor has previously been issued a warning for any such
violation, then the officer shall charge the minor with a violation
of this chapter and shall issue a summons requiring the minor to appear
in court.
(2)
As soon as practicable, the officer shall:
(a)
Release the minor to his or her parent(s); or
(b)
Place the minor in a 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
(c)
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.
B.
Others. If an investigation by an officer reveals that a person has violated § 116-4B, C or D above, 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.
C.
Any person who violates or permits a violation of this chapter shall,
upon being found liable therefor in an enforcement proceeding commenced
by the Township before a Magisterial District Judge, pay a fine not
to exceed the maximum fine and imprisonment permitted for a summary
offense, plus all court costs, including reasonable attorney's fees,
incurred by the Township in the enforcement of this chapter.
