[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council of the Borough of
Vandergrift 4-2-2007 by Ord. No.
4-2007. Amendments noted where applicable.]
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
The hours of 11:01 p.m. through 6:00 a.m. Monday through
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 similar circumstances.
Any privately owned place of business within the Borough
operated for a profit, to which the public is invited, including,
but 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 corporation (and the officers thereof) conducting or managing
that establishment.
Any persons who have not yet reached their 18th birthday
and who have 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
the chapters of the Borough of Vandergrift.
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 share under an order of court or agreement);
A person who is the biological or adoptive parent with whom
a minor regularly resides;
A person judicially appointed as a legal guardian of the minor;
and/or
A person 18 years of age or older standing in loco parentis
(as indicated by the authorization of an individual listed in A, B
or C of this definition above for the person to assume the care or
physical custody of the child, or as indicated by other circumstances).
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, public common areas of schools,
hospitals, public areas of apartment houses, public areas of office
buildings, public transportation facilities, stores and shops.
The following action: to linger or stay at or upon a place
and/or to fail to leave a place when requested to do so by an officer
or by the owner, operator or other person in control of that place.
A nonlocked, nonrestrictive shelter at which minors may wait,
under visual supervision, to be retrieved by a parent. No minor 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 Borough of Vandergrift, 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 stops; 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 an organizational 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 activity without detour
or stop; or
(6)
The minor is on an errand at the direction of the 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, a brief description of the errand, the minor's
destination and the hours the minor is authorized to be engaging in
the errand; or
(7)
The minor is involved in interstate travel through or beginning or
terminating in the Borough of Vandergrift; 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 the provisions of 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 violation of the provisions 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 section.
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 or establishment within the Borough of Vandergrift during curfew hours is in violation of § 181-2A above.
(1)
If such investigation reveals that the presence of such minor is in violation of § 181-2A, then:
(a)
If the minor has not previously been issued a warning of any
such violation, 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, the officer shall charge the minor with a violation of
this chapter and shall issue a summons requiring the minor to appear
in court; and
(2)
As soon as practical, 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 non-secure crisis center or juvenile shelter
and/or may be taken to a judge or intake officer of the juvenile center
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 above § 181-2B, C or D, 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.
Each violation of this chapter shall constitute a summary offense
and, upon conviction, the violator shall pay a fine of $300.
Within one year after the effective date of this chapter, the
Borough Secretary shall review this chapter and report and make recommendations
to the Borough Council concerning the effectiveness of and the continuing
need for the chapter The Borough Secretary's report shall specifically
include the following information:
A.
The practicality of enforcing the chapter and any problems with enforcement
identified by the Police Department;
B.
The impact and cost of the chapter;
C.
Other data and information which the Police Department believes to
be relevant in assessing the effectiveness of the Curfew Ordinance;
and
D.
Information from citizens regarding whether the chapter has been
administered and enforced fairly, including information regarding
the age, gender and race of those charged or detained under the chapter.
