For the purpose of this division, the following terms, phrases,
words and their derivations shall have the meaning given herein. When
not inconsistent with the context, words used in the present tense
include the future, words in the plural include the singular and words
in the singular include the plural. The word “shall” is
always mandatory and not merely directory.
Establishment.
Any privately owned place of business carried on for a profit
or any place of amusement or entertainment to which the public is
invited.
Juvenile.
Any person under the age of seventeen (17) years of age,
or, in equivalent phrasing, any person of the age sixteen (16) years
old or younger.
Operator.
Any individual, firm, association, partnership or corporation
operating, managing, or conducting any establishment; and whenever
used in any clause prescribing a penalty, the term as applied to associations
or partnerships shall include the members or partners thereof and
as applied to corporations shall include the officers thereof.
Parent.
Any natural parent of a juvenile, a legal guardian, or any
adult person, eighteen (18) years or older, in whose care the juvenile
has been placed by the natural parent or legal guardian.
Public place.
Any public street, highway, road, alley, park, playground,
public building, parkway or vacant lot.
Remain.
To stay behind, to tarry and stay unnecessarily upon a public
place, including congregating in groups totaling four (4) or more
juveniles in which any minor included would not be using the public
place for an ordinary or serious purpose such as passage or going
home. To implement this definition with more precision and precaution,
numerous exceptions will be provided hereinafter to indicate that
this is not a mere prohibitory or presence type curfew ordinance.
More exceptions become available to juveniles with increasing years
and advancing maturity as appropriate in the interest of reasonable
regulation.
Time of night.
The prevailing local standard time at the date in question,
whether Central Standard Time or Central Daylight Savings Time, as
observed by the public. The time maintained by the city police department
shall be prima facie evidence of the time of day for continued implementation
of this division.
Years of age.
The time from one birthday, such as the sixteenth, to the
next, but not including the day of the next birthday. Thus, upon a
person’s seventeenth birthday, he or she will cease to be a
juvenile regulated by this division.
(Ordinance 163 adopted 6/27/05; Ordinance 163-2008 adopted 6/23/08; Ordinance
163-2011 adopted 7/25/11; Ordinance 163-2014 adopted 6/23/14; Ordinance 163-2017 adopted 6/26/17)
It shall be unlawful for any person sixteen (16) or less years
of age to be or remain in or upon any public place or in or upon any
establishment within the city between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and
5:30 a.m. of the following day, official city time.
(Ordinance 163 adopted 6/27/05; Ordinance 163-2008 adopted 6/23/08; Ordinance
163-2011 adopted 7/25/11; Ordinance 163-2014 adopted 6/23/14; Ordinance 163-2017 adopted 6/26/17)
(a) In
the following exceptional cases a juvenile in or upon any public place
or in and upon an establishment shall not be deemed in violation of
this division. This section is intended as a clear guide for juveniles,
their parents, and law enforcement officials:
(1) When the juvenile is accompanied by his/her parent, legal guardian
or authorized adult supervisor.
(2) When exercising First Amendment rights protected by the United States
Constitution, such as the free exercise of religion, freedom of speech
and the rights of assembly, it shall be deemed a bona fide exercise
of such rights if the assembly, whether parade or demonstration, has
been permitted by the city or consists of other bona fide religious,
social or school activities involving the right to assemble.
(3) When engaged in performing an errand or other legitimate business
at the direction of a parent, guardian or supervisory adult, including
travel to and from such location by a direct route.
(4) When the juvenile is on the sidewalk at the place where such juvenile
resides, or on the sidewalk of either next-door neighbor, when the
neighbors do not object to such presence.
(5) When the juvenile is engaged in employment activities, such as, but
not restricted to, newspaper delivery.
(b) All
of the above-cited exceptions to this division include travel to and
from such activity by a direct route, and this division is in no way
to be construed as a limitation upon normal travel by a juvenile engaged
in interstate or intrastate movement.
(c) Each
of the foregoing exceptions is severable, and other possible exceptions
may be added hereto in the future as warranted by experience and views
illuminated by students, school personnel, citizens, neighborhood
spokesmen, parents, officers and persons in authority concerned with
minors as well as juvenile delinquency.
(Ordinance 163 adopted 6/27/05; Ordinance 163-2008 adopted 6/23/08; Ordinance
163-2011 adopted 7/25/11; Ordinance 163-2014 adopted 6/23/14; Ordinance 163-2017 adopted 6/26/17)
It shall be unlawful for a parent knowingly to permit, or by
insufficient control allow, a juvenile in his or her care to be or
remain in any public place or to be or remain in any establishment
other than for excepted activities during the curfew hours established
by this division. The term “knowingly” includes knowledge
which a parent should reasonably be expected to have concerning the
whereabouts of a juvenile in such parent’s custody. It shall
be prima facie evidence of violation of this section if a responsible
parent has no knowledge of a juvenile’s whereabouts during the
hours of curfew established by this division. The purpose of this
section is to require neglectful or careless parents to meet the community
standard of parental responsibility.
(Ordinance 163 adopted 6/27/05; Ordinance 163-2008 adopted 6/23/08; Ordinance
163-2011 adopted 7/25/11; Ordinance 163-2014 adopted 6/23/14; Ordinance 163-2017 adopted 6/26/17)
It shall be unlawful for the owner or operator of a business
establishment to allow a juvenile to remain upon such business premises
during the hours of curfew established in this division beyond the
time necessary to conduct an excepted activity. It shall be no defense
to this section that the juvenile made a purchase, if the juvenile
did not immediately make such purchase upon arrival and depart immediately
thereafter. It shall be a defense to prosecution under this section
that the owner or operator of such business establishment has promptly
notified the city police department that juveniles present on the
premises after hours have refused to depart.
(Ordinance 163 adopted 6/27/05; Ordinance 163-2008 adopted 6/23/08; Ordinance
163-2011 adopted 7/25/11; Ordinance 163-2014 adopted 6/23/14; Ordinance 163-2017 adopted 6/26/17)
(a) A
law enforcement officer, upon finding or having his or her attention
called to any juvenile in or on a public place, or in or on the premises
of a business establishment, in a prima facie violation of this division,
may take the juvenile into custody. Such juvenile may be transported
to the city police department. Upon arrival at the police department,
a parent, legal guardian or other responsible adult shall be immediately
notified to pick up such juvenile. An officer taking a juvenile into
custody shall also have discretion to release such juvenile to a parent,
legal guardian or other responsible adult under circumstances deemed
appropriate by the officer. An officer may also issue a warning notice
to the juvenile in accordance with section 52.01 of the Texas Family
Code and order such juvenile to go directly and promptly to his or
her home. Delinquent conduct or conduct indicating a need for supervision
under sections 51.03 and 52.01 of the Texas Family Code shall be handled
in accordance with applicable provisions of the Family Code.
(b) Upon
picking up a juvenile in custody, the parent, legal guardian or other
adult responsible for the supervision of the juvenile may be questioned
about the circumstance of the juvenile’s activities. This is
intended to permit ascertainment, under constitutional safeguards,
of relevant facts, and to centralize responsibility for accurate,
effective, fair, impartial and uniform environment and recording,
thus making available experienced supervisory personnel, the best
of facilities, and, if required, referral to social agencies equipped
to handle family problems that may be disclosed by investigation.
In the absence of convincing identification, an officer on the street
may use his or her best judgment in determining age. Procedures shall
be constantly refined in the light of experience, and changes herein
may be made on the basis of such experience.
(c) In
any event, an officer shall within twenty-four (24) hours file a written
report on the juvenile incident or shall participate to the extent
possible in the preparation and filing of such a report by his supervisor.
(d) When
a parent, legal guardian or other responsible adult has come to take
charge of a juvenile and the appropriate information has been received,
the juvenile shall be released to the custody of the parent, legal
guardian or other responsible adult. If a parent, legal guardian or
other responsible adult cannot be located or fails to take charge
of the juvenile, then the juvenile shall be released to appropriate
authorities. However, the police department shall have the discretion
to refuse to release a juvenile to an adult other than the parent
or legal guardian of the juvenile.
(e) A
juvenile may not be held at the police department for more than six
(6) hours; during such time, the following procedures shall be observed:
(1) The office must be an unlocked, multipurpose area that is not designated,
set aside, or used as a secure detention area or part of a secure
detention area;
(2) The juvenile may not be secured physically to a cuffing rail, chair,
desk, or stationary object;
(3) The juvenile may not be held longer than necessary to accomplish
the purposes of identification, investigation, processing, release
to parent, guardians or custodians, and arrangement of transportation
to school or court; and
(4) The office may not be designated or intended for residential purposes.
(Ordinance 163 adopted 6/27/05; Ordinance 163-2008 adopted 6/23/08; Ordinance
163-2011 adopted 7/25/11; Ordinance 163-2014 adopted 6/23/14; Ordinance 163-2017 adopted 6/26/17)
Prevailing community standards as reflected by this division
require the availability of criminal penalties in order for this division
to be a viable instrument for the maintenance of such standards. Consequently,
violation of this division by a juvenile, parent or business establishment
owner or operator shall be deemed to be a misdemeanor punishable by
a fine not exceeding $500.00. Each day any violation continues constitutes
a separate offense.
(Ordinance 163 adopted 6/27/05; Ordinance 163-2008 adopted 6/23/08; Ordinance
163-2011 adopted 7/25/11; Ordinance 163-2014 adopted 6/23/14; Ordinance 163-2017 adopted 6/26/17)
This division shall be reviewed every third year prior to the
anniversary date of the ordinance as required by section 370.002 of
the Local Government Code. The first review shall be conducted no
later than June 27th, 2008, and every third year thereafter. Such
review shall be conducted following a public hearing upon the need
to continue the ordinance, and the city council shall have the option
to continue, abolish or modify the ordinance based upon their review
of the ordinance’s effects on the community and on the problems
the ordinance is intended to remedy.
(Ordinance 163 adopted 6/27/05; Ordinance 163-2008 adopted 6/23/08; Ordinance
163-2011 adopted 7/25/11; Ordinance 163-2014 adopted 6/23/14; Ordinance 163-2017 adopted 6/26/17)