The purpose of this Part is to: promote the
general welfare and protect the general public through the reduction
of juvenile violence and crime within the Borough; promote the safety
and well-being of the Borough's youngest citizens, persons under the
age of 18, 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 foster and strengthen parental responsibility for children.
As used within this Part, the following words
and phrases shall have the meanings ascribed to them below:
CURFEW HOURS
The hours of 10:00 p.m. on any Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday
or Thursday through 5:00 a.m. on the following day, and the hours
of 11:00 p.m. on any Friday or Saturday through 5:00 a.m. on the following
day.
[Amended 7-13-2006 by Ord. No. 1186]
EMERGENCY
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.
ESTABLISHMENT
Any privately owned place of business within the Borough
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.
MINOR
Any person under 18 years of age who has not been emancipated
by court order.
OFFICER
A police or other law enforcement officer charged with the
duty of enforcing the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and/or
the ordinances of the Borough of Homestead.
PARENT
1.
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);
2.
A person who is the biological or adoptive parent
with whom a minor regularly resides;
3.
A person judicially appointed as a legal guardian
of the minor; and/or
4.
A person 18 years of age or older standing in loco parentis (as indicated by the authorization of an individual listed in Subsection
1,
2 or
3 of this definition, above, for the person to assume the care or physical custody of the child, or as indicated by any other circumstances).
PERSON
An individual, does not refer to any association, corporation
or any other legal entity.
PUBLIC PLACE
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 the common areas of
government buildings, schools, hospitals, apartment houses, office
buildings, transportation facilities, shops.
REMAIN
The following actions:
1.
To linger or stay at or upon a place; and/or
2.
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.
It shall be unlawful for a minor, during curfew
hours, to remain in or upon any public place within the Borough, 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,
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 direction 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
Borough of Homestead; or
8. The minor is exercising
rights protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution,
such as the free exercise of religion, freedom of speech and the right
to assembly.
It shall be unlawful for a minor's parent to knowingly permit, encourage or suffer or by negligent or inefficient control allow such minor to violate §
6-203.
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 §
6-203.
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 section 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.
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 §
6-203.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see AO)]
Any person who violates or permits a violation of this Part
shall, upon conviction in a summary proceeding under the Pennsylvania
Rules of Criminal Procedure, be guilty of a summary offense and shall
be punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000, plus court costs
and reasonable attorneys' fees incurred by the Borough in the enforcement
proceedings. Upon judgment against any person by summary conviction,
or by proceedings by summons on default of the payment of the fine
or penalty imposed and the costs, the defendant may be sentenced and
committed to the county correctional facility for a period not exceeding
30 days. Each day that such violation exists shall constitute a separate
offense, and each section of this Part that is violated shall also
constitute a separate offense. In addition to or in lieu of enforcement
under this section, the Borough may enforce this Part in equity in
the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County.