It shall be unlawful for any minor under the age of 17 years to loiter, idle, wander, stroll or play in or upon or to remain in or upon the public streets, highways, roads, alleys, parks, playgrounds, public places and public buildings, places of amusement and entertainment, places of business carried on for profit to which the public is invited, vacant lots or other public places, either on foot or in any vehicle, within the confines of the Borough between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. on each day of the week, provided that the provisions of this section shall not apply to a minor when accompanied by his parent, guardian or other adult person having custody, care and control of the minor, or in the event the minor is upon an emergency errand or legitimate business directed or consented to by his parent, guardian or other adult person having care and custody of the minor.
[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the Borough of Englishtown as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted as Ch. 2.66, Art. I, of the 1997 Code]
It shall be unlawful for the parent, guardian or other adult person having the care or custody of a minor under the age of 17 years to permit such minor to loiter, idle, wander, stroll or play in or remain in or be upon the public streets, highways, roads, alleys, parks, playgrounds, public places, public buildings, places of amusement and entertainment, places of business carried on for profit to which the public is invited, vacant lots or other public places, either on foot or in any vehicle, within the confines of the Borough between the hours set forth in § 309-1, provided that the provisions of this section shall not apply to a minor accompanied by his parent, guardian or other adult person having the care or custody of the minor, or when the minor is upon an emergency errand or legitimate business directed by his parent, guardian or other adult person having the care and custody of the minor.
It shall be unlawful for any owner or operator of any establishment as set forth in § 309-1 to permit a minor to loiter, idle, wander, stroll or play in or remain in or be upon the public streets and other places as set forth in §§ 309-1 and 309-2 during the times and subject to the provisions contained therein.
The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to any minor under the age of 17 years who is gainfully employed, who is a bona fide student of a school of evening instruction; who is in attendance at a function sponsored by a religious or school organization; or who is in attendance at a properly supervised recreation program during the time that is necessarily required to travel between such minor's residence and the place of assembly.
If an emergency arises which necessitates a minor under the age of 17 years to be dispatched upon an errand requiring his presence upon any street or other public place or area open to the public during the hours to which the use thereof by such unattended minor child is prohibited by this article, such child shall have in his possession a note or message, in writing by the person of his household over the age of 21 years, stating the nature of the errand, the necessity thereof, the place or destination at which the mission is to be accomplished, the time such message was executed, and the approximate time required for the errand. Any abuse of this section shall constitute a violation of this chapter.
A.
Procedure. The police officers of the Borough, or any other authorized or constituted persons charged with law enforcement within the Borough, shall be the persons authorized to find any minor under the age of 17 years upon any other streets or other public places enumerated above during the prohibited hours and to take the name and address of such minor and the name and address of the parents, guardian or other adult person having the legal care or custody of the child. The authorized person shall immediately escort such minor to his home and report the name of the minor and of his parents, guardian or other person having the legal care or custody to the Borough Clerk, who shall sign a complaint for the violation of this chapter in all cases where it reasonably appears from the facts that a violation has occurred.
B.
First complaint. The first complaint shall be in the form of a formal notice upon all persons whose names appear in the report of the apprehending officer or official or in any inquiry made as a result of such report, who have or seem to have any legal or moral responsibility for the well-being of the minor child involved that there has been a violation of this chapter. The notice prescribed shall be captioned "Notice of First Violation of Curfew Ordinance" and shall contain all of the pertinent facts in any given case. Such notice shall be served personally by any member of the Police Department or mailed by registered letter. For the purpose of this chapter, such notice, when produced and admitted as evidence in the Municipal Court of the Borough, shall constitute the basis upon which the Court can entertain jurisdiction for the hearing of the case.
C.
Subsequent violations. Upon a second or subsequent violation of the provisions of this chapter by either a minor child under the age of 17 years or by any parent, legal guardian or otherwise duly authorized and accredited custodian having lawful care or custody of such minor child, or owner or operator of a business establishment, the Borough Clerk or an authorized officer or official charged with law enforcement within the Borough shall cause an appropriate summons to be issued, calling for the appearance of the minor child and other persons who appear to have either a legal or moral responsibility for the care and welfare of such child and any of the persons in any other categories specified in this section.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
Violators shall be required to perform community service and may be subject to a fine of up to $1,000. If both a juvenile and the juvenile's parent or guardian violate this article, they shall be required to perform community service together.