[Adopted 6-7-2001 by Ord. No. 02-01]
The purposes of this article are as follows:
A.
To protect juveniles and other citizens, residents
and visitors to the Borough of Rockaway from the dangers of criminal
and unlawful activity which may occur in the sidewalks, streets and
other public places of the Borough during the late night and early
morning hours;
B.
To decrease the amount of criminal activity engaged
in by juveniles;
C.
To promote and enhance parental control over juveniles
and encourage family unity;
D.
To recognize the constitutional rights of juveniles
and to establish standards which do not impinge upon those rights,
and in particular to enable juveniles to continue to engage in lawful
activities, while addressing the needs of the community and reduce
or eliminate juvenile crime; and
E.
To establish standards and policies to assist the
Rockaway Borough Police in enforcing the measures established herein.
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
An organized pursuit supervised by one or more adults.
An individual who is 18 or more years of age.
A grandparent, brother, sister, stepbrother, stepsister,
uncle, aunt, or first cousin who is 18 or more years of age and who
is willing and available to care for the juvenile.
An administrative and functional association, society, group,
or profit or not for profit corporation consisting of individuals
linked by a common policy, social, economic, political or other interest.
An event in which a juvenile is en route to or from rendering
assistance to or locating or attempting to locate assistance for a
person who has sustained what the juvenile reasonably believes to
be a serious bodily injury or who is otherwise in a physical condition
such that it reasonable appears to the juvenile that immediate action
is required and that there is an urgent need for assistance or relief.
An activity sponsored by, promoted by, supervised by or conducted
under the auspices of a public or private school and supervised by
one or more adults. Examples of extracurricular activities include,
but are not limited to concerts, plays, art exhibits, dances and proms,
sporting events and practice or rehearsal sessions, class trips, graduation
ceremonies and related activities.
A person, other than a parent, to whom legal custody of the
juvenile has been given by court order or who is acting in the place
of the parent and is responsible for the care and welfare of the juvenile.
An individual who is under the age of 18 years.
A person who is the natural or adoptive parent, stepparent
or foster parent of the juvenile.
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 structure or area.
An organization relating to, devoted to or promoting religious
beliefs, activities or observances.
A.
It shall be unlawful for a juvenile to be on any public
street or in any public place between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and
6:00 a.m.
B.
It shall be unlawful for any parent or guardian to
allow a juvenile who is unaccompanied by the parent or guardian to
be on any public street or in any public place between the hours of
10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. It shall not be a violation of this article
by the parent or guardian where a parent or guardian is unable to
control the whereabouts and activities of a juvenile in his or her
care, custody or control has contacted the Rockaway Borough Police
and reported such juvenile as possibly appearing in locations and
at times which would violate this article.
This article shall not apply to any juvenile
who can establish that he or she is on a public street or in a public
place between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. where the juvenile
is:
A.
Accompanied by the juvenile's parents or guardian;
B.
Engaged in or traveling to or from a business or occupation
which the laws of the State of New Jersey authorize a juvenile to
perform;
C.
Engaged in an errand involving a medical emergency;
D.
Attending an extracurricular school activity; or
E.
Attending some other activity, cultural, educational
or social event which is sponsored by a religious or community-based
organization.
Violators of this article 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.
A.
A police officer of the Borough, upon finding a suspected
juvenile on the streets in apparent violation of this article, shall
investigate to determine whether a violation has actually occurred.
B.
A police officer finding a suspected juvenile in a
public place in possible violation of this article shall request that
the suspected juvenile produce identification or other documentation
of age. In the absence of the production of convincing evidence such
as birth certificate, a police officer on the street shall in the
first instance use his or her best judgment to determine the age of
the suspected juvenile.
A.
Whenever any juvenile is engaged in conduct in violation
of this article, the Rockaway Borough Police are hereby authorized
and empowered to take such juvenile into custody in accordance with
the laws of the State of New Jersey and the standards set forth herein.
B.
An officer taking a juvenile into custody under this
article shall inform the juvenile of the reason for such custody.
C.
If it is necessary to take a juvenile into custody,
the custody shall be temporary and shall not extend beyond the amount
of time reasonably necessary to transport the juvenile to the juvenile's
home, the police station or another destination authorized by law.
In determining whether to transport a juvenile to the police station
or the juvenile's home, the police officer shall consider factors,
including but not limited to the distance to the juvenile's home,
the availability of police personnel on duty to provide sufficient
police protection to the Borough's residents during the time of transportation
to the juvenile's home, and the presence, or lack thereof, of adequate
adult supervision at the juvenile's home.
D.
An officer releasing a juvenile into custody of a
parent or guardian shall inform the parent or guardian of the reason
for having taken the juvenile into custody and shall issue summonses
to the juvenile and parent or guardian, if appropriate.
E.
The officer may transport the juvenile to the police
station, to the home of an adult extended family member, or any other
place designated by the Chief of Police:
(1)
If the juvenile expresses fear or distress at the
prospect of being returned to his or her home, which leads the officer
to reasonably believe that there is a possibility that the juvenile
is experiencing some type of child abuse or neglect in the home;
(2)
If it is not practical to transport the juvenile to
his or her home; or
(3)
If there is no parent or guardian available to accept
custody of the juvenile.
F.
The officer releasing a juvenile into custody of an
adult extended family member or a responsible adult shall inform the
juvenile and the adult extended family member or responsible adult
of the reason for taking the juvenile into custody.
G.
The officer making original contact with the juvenile
shall file a written report within 24 hours of such contact.
H.
When a juvenile is taken into custody and transported
to the police station, the officer shall promptly call the juvenile's
parent or guardian. If such parent or guardian is not available, then
the officer shall call an adult extended family member of the juvenile,
if one is located within or in the vicinity of the Borough. When a
parent cannot be located or has not appeared within a reasonable period
of time to take charge of the juvenile, there is no adult extended
family member with whom the juvenile has a relationship who is willing
and available to care for the juvenile, or the juvenile fails or refuses
to identify a parent, guardian or adult extended family member, and
the appropriate information has been recorded, the police officer
shall contact the Division of Youth and Family Services (DYFS) or
other agency designated by the Chief of Police to make arrangements
for temporary custody of the minor.
I.
The Chief of Police shall have the authority to make
such other necessary rules for enforcement of this article to assure
that investigations and temporary custody of a minor are carried out
in a constitutional and efficient manner.
This article and the need for it shall be reviewed
periodically to determine the effectiveness and continuing need for
this article. During the course of the review of this article, a report
shall be prepared, which shall include, but not be limited to the
following information.
A.
The practicality of enforcing this article and any
enforcement problems identified by the Rockaway Borough Chief of Police;
B.
The impact of this article on juvenile crime and juvenile
victimization statistics and on the public perception of juvenile
crime and victimization;
C.
The number of juveniles taken into custody for curfew
violations; and
D.
The number of official citizen complaints filed regarding
the enforcement of this article.
