[HISTORY: Adopted by the Merchantville Borough Council 10-15-2003 by Ord. No. 03-12. (This ordinance revokes former Ch. 19, Curfew, adopted 6-13-1977 by Ord. No. 522.) Amendments noted where applicable.]
For the purposes of the Curfew Ordinance the following terms,
phrases, words and their derivations shall have the meaning given
herein. When not inconsistent with the context, words used in the
presence 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.
Juvenile or minor is any person under the age of eighteen
(18) years of age.
Parent is any person having legal custody of a juvenile (i)
as a natural or adoptive parent, (ii) as a legal guardian, (iii) as
a person who stands in loco parentis or (iv) as a person to whom legal
custody has been given by order of court.
Public place means any place to which the public has access,
including but not limited to a public street, road, thoroughfare,
sidewalk, bridge, alley, plaza, park, recreation or shopping area,
public transportation facility, vehicle used for public transportation,
parking lot or any other public building, structure or area.
Remain means to stay behind, to tarry and to stay unnecessarily
upon any public place, including the congregating of groups (or of
interacting minors) totaling four or more persons in which any juvenile
involved would not be using the public places for ordinary or serious
purposes such as mere passage or going home or shopping or engaging
in specific Borough, school or church sponsored activities. To implement
that thought with additional precision and precaution, numerous exceptions
are expressly defined in this chapter so that this is not a mere prohibit
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.
Time of night referred to herein is based upon the prevailing
standard of time, whether Eastern Standard Time or Eastern Daylight
Savings 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.
Years of age continues from one birthday, such as the seventeenth
to (but not including the day of) the next, such as the eighteenth
birthday, making it clear that seventeen or less years treated as
equivalent to the phrase "under eighteen years of age."
It shall be unlawful for any person under eighteen (18) years
of age to be or remain in or upon the public places within the Borough
of Merchantville at night during the period ending at 6:00 a.m. and
beginning:
In the following exceptional cases, a minor located upon a public
place during the nocturnal hours 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.
In case of reasonable necessity for the juvenile remaining upon the
public places but only after the juvenile's parent has communicated
to the Chief of Police or the person designated by the Chief of Police
to receive such notifications the facts establishing the reasonable
necessity relating to specified public places at a designated time
for a described purpose including points of origin and destination.
A copy of the communication, or of the police record thereof, duly
certified by the Police Department to be correct, with an appropriate
notation of the time it was received and of the names and addresses
of the parent and juvenile, shall be admissible evidence.
D.
When the juvenile is on the sidewalk or property where the juvenile
resides, or on either side of or across the street from the place
where the juvenile resides and the adult owner or resident of that
property has given permission for the juvenile to be there.
E.
When returning home from and within one (1) hour after the termination
of a school or Borough sponsored activity, or an activity of a religious
or other voluntary association.
F.
When the minor is, with parental consent, in a motor vehicle. This
contemplates normal travel. It is the intention of this provision
to clearly exempt bona fide interstate movements along major routes
through Merchantville Borough and interstate travel beginning or ending
in Merchantville Borough.
G.
Each of the foregoing exceptions, and their several limitations such
as provisions for notification, are severable, as hereinafter provided
but here reemphasized will be considered by Borough Council as warranted
by future experience illuminated by the views of student government
associations, school personnel, citizens, associations, parents, officers
and person in authority concerned positively with juveniles as well
as with juvenile delinquency.
It shall be unlawful for a parent having legal custody of a
juvenile knowingly to permit or by inefficient control to allow the
juvenile to be or remain upon any public place under circumstances
not constituting an exception to, or otherwise beyond the scope of,
this chapter. The term "knowingly" includes knowledge that a parent
should reasonably be expected to have concerning the whereabouts of
a juvenile 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, therefore, be no defense that a parent was completely
indifferent to the activities or conduct or whereabouts of such juvenile.
A.
Police procedures shall constantly be refined in the light of experience
and may provide that the police officer may deliver to a parent, or
guardian thereof a juvenile under appropriate circumstances, for example,
a juvenile of tender age near home whose identity and address may
readily be ascertained or are known.
B.
In any event the police officer 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
of a report on the curfew violation. It is not the intention of this
section to require incident reports that will prevent police officers
from performing their primary police duties. The reports shall be
as simple as is reasonably possible and may be completed by police
departmental personnel other than sworn police officers.
C.
When a parent or guardian, immediately called, has come to take charge
of the juvenile, and the appropriate information has been recorded,
the juvenile shall be released to the custody of such parent. If the
parent cannot be located or fails to take charge of the juvenile,
then the juvenile shall be released to the juvenile authorities, except
to the extent that in accordance with police regulations, approved
in advance by juvenile authorities, the juvenile may temporarily be
entrusted to an adult, neighbor or other person who will on behalf
of a parent or guardian assume the responsibility for caring for the
juvenile pending the availability or arrival of a parent or guardian.
D.
In the case of a first violation by a juvenile, the Chief of Police
shall by certified mail, send to a parent or guardian, written notice
of the 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.
A.
If a police officer reasonably believes that a juvenile is upon the
public place in violation of this chapter, the officer shall notify
the juvenile that he or she is in violation of this chapter and shall
require the juvenile to provide his or her name, address and telephone
number and how to contact his or parent or guardian.
B.
In determining the age of the juvenile and in the absence of convicting
evidence such as a birth certificate, a police officer shall, in the
first instance, use his or her best judgment in determining age.
C.
The normal procedure shall then be to take the juvenile to the police
station where a parent or guardian shall immediately be notified to
come for the juvenile whereupon they shall be questioned. This is
intended to permit ascertainment, under constitutional safeguards,
of relevant facts, and to centralize responsibility in the person
designated there and then on duty for accurate, effective, fair, impartial
and uniform enforcement, and recording, thus making available experienced
personnel and access to information and records.
Notwithstanding anything contained in this chapter to the contrary, it shall be unlawful for any child under the age of eighteen (18) years to be upon the public places of the Borough of Merchantville after the hour of 7:00 p.m., prevailing time, on the 29th day of October, the 30th day of October, and the 31st day of October, until 6:00 a.m. the following morning, unless exempted from this section under Section 19-3 of this chapter.
Notice of the existence of this chapter and the curfew regulations
established by it shall be posted in, on or at such public and quasi-public
places as may be determined by the Chief of Police, in order that
the public may be constantly informed of the existence of this chapter
and its regulations.
Any person, as defined in Section 19-1, convicted of a violation of any provision of this chapter shall be subject to a fine of up to $1,000.00, and may be required to perform community service of up to 10 days. As provided in N.J.S.A. 40:48-2.52, whenever both a juvenile and the juvenile's parent or guardian violate this chapter, they may be required to perform community service together.
