[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Commissioners of the Town of Bridgeville:
Art. I, 8-24-1967 by Ord. No. 520; Art. II, 11-11-1996 by Ord. No. 115. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 8-24-1967 by Ord.
No. 520]
Three days before and three days after Halloween, it shall be unlawful
for any children under the age of 18 years to be on the streets or alleys
in the Town of Bridgeville after 9:00 p.m., unless accompanied by one or both
parents. Any children out after the curfew hour will be in violation of this
article.
The parents will be responsible to see that their child or children
are off the streets before the hour established in this article.
It shall be unlawful for any child to be trick-or-treating other than
the night before designated as Halloween.
It shall be unlawful for any child to be trick-or-treating after 8:00
p.m.
It shall be unlawful for anyone to deface or destroy personal or public
property.
It shall be unlawful to throw water balloons, apples, pumpkins or any
other objects at any moving or parked vehicles or at any window, doors or
people.
It shall be unlawful for anyone to be in the cemeteries after the hour
of darkness.
It shall be unlawful for any parent or friend whose residence is not
that of Bridgeville to bring their child or children to the Town of Bridgeville
so that the child or children can go trick-or-treating.
Whoever violates any section of this article of the Code of the Town
of Bridgeville shall be fined not less than $5 nor more than $25. If the second
offense shall occur within 72 hours, he or she shall be fined not less than
$25 nor more than $50, and the parents shall be responsible for their child's
behavior and all fines.[1]
[Adopted 11-11-1996 by Ord.
No. 115]
It shall be unlawful for any person under the age of 17 years to congregate,
loiter, wander, stroll, stand or play in or upon the public streets, highways,
roads, alleys, parks, public buildings, places of amusement and entertainment,
places of employment, vacant lots or any public places in the Town of Bridgeville,
either on foot or in or upon any conveyance being driven or parked thereon,
between the hours of 11:00 p.m., local time, until 6:00 a.m. on all nights
of the week except Friday and Saturday nights, which shall be from 12:00 midnight,
local time, until 6:00 a.m., unless accompanied by his or her parent, guardian
or other adult person having his or her care, custody or control.
It shall be unlawful for the parent, guardian or other adult person
having the care and custody of a person under the age of 17 years to suffer
or permit by insufficient control to allow such person to congregate, loiter,
wander, stroll, stand or play in or upon the public streets, highways, roads,
alleys, parks, public buildings, places of amusement and entertainment, places
of employment, vacant lots or any public places in the Town of Bridgeville,
either on foot or in or upon any conveyance being driven or parked thereon,
between the hours of 11:00 p.m., local time, until 6:00 a.m. on all nights
of the week except Friday and Saturday nights, which shall be from 12:00 midnight,
local time, until 6:00 a.m., unless accompanied by his or her parent, guardian
or other adult person having his or her care, custody or control.
It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation operating places
of amusement or entertainment or any agent, servant or employee of any person,
firm or corporation to permit any person under the age of 17 years to enter
or remain in such places of amusement or entertainment during the hours prohibited
under this section, unless such person is accompanied by his or her parent,
guardian or other adult person having his or her care, custody or control.
The following shall constitute valid exceptions to the operation of
this article.
A.
When a person under the age of 17 is assisting in an
actual emergency.
B.
When a juvenile is returning home by a direct route (without
any unnecessary detour or stop) from and within one hour of the termination
of any school activity or an activity of religious or other voluntary association.
C.
When a juvenile is married.
A.
If a police officer reasonably believes that a juvenile
is in a public place in violation of this article, the officer shall notify
the juvenile that he or she is in violation of this article, and shall require
the juvenile to provide his or her name, address and telephone number and
how to contact his/her parent or guardian. In determining the age of the juvenile
and in the absence of convincing evidence such as a birth certificate, a police
officer shall, in the first instance of violation of this article, use his
or her best judgment in determining age.
B.
The police officer shall issue the juvenile a written warning that the juvenile is in violation of this article and order the juvenile to go promptly home. The Chief of Police shall send the parent or guardian of the juvenile written notice of the violation pursuant to Subsection F.
C.
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.
D.
Notwithstanding Subsection B of this section, when a juvenile has received one previous written warning for violation of this ordinance or a police officer has reasonable grounds to believe that the juvenile has engaged in delinquent conduct, the 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 the parent or guardian and the juvenile shall be questioned. This is intended to permit ascertainment, under constitutional safeguards, of relevant facts and to centralize responsibilities 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.
E.
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 or guardian.
If the parent or guardian 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 of caring for the juvenile pending the availability
or arrival of a parent or guardian.
F.
In the case of a first violation of this article 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 article, including enforcement
of parental responsibility and of applicable penalties.
G.
For the first violation of this article by an operator
of an establishment who permits a juvenile to remain on the premises, a police
officer shall issue a written notice of the violation with a warning that
any subsequent violation will result in full enforcement of this article,
including enforcement of operator responsibility and of applicable penalties.
H.
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 or she is responsible in the preparation
for a report on the curfew violation. It is not the intention of this section
to require extensive 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.
A.
If, after the warning notice pursuant to § 114-14 of a first violation by a juvenile, a parent violates § 114-11 (in connection with second violation by the juvenile), this shall be treated as first offense by the parents. For the first offense by a parent, the fine shall be $50 and, for each subsequent offense by a parent, the fine shall be increased by an additional $20, e.g., $70 for the second offense, $90 for the third offense. The Judge of the Family Court of the State of Delaware, upon finding a parent guilty, shall sentence the parent to pay this fine and the cost of prosecution.
B.
The parent or legal guardian having custody of a juvenile
subject to this section shall be liable for all costs incurred by the town
for providing personnel to remain in the company of a juvenile who has been
detained as a curfew violator if the parent or guardian does not pick up the
juvenile within one hour after receiving notice from the town that the town
is detaining the juvenile for a curfew violation. The amount to be paid by
the parent or guardian shall be based on the hourly wage of the town employee
who is assigned to remain with the juvenile, plus the cost of benefits for
that employee.
C.
The parent or legal guardian having custody of a juvenile
subject to this section shall be liable for any fine or condition of restitution
or reparation imposed by a court upon a curfew violation, provided that the
curfew violator has not paid the fine or made restitution or reparation within
the time order by the court, and further provided that the parent or legal
guardian has been made a party defendant in all enforcement proceedings against
the curfew violator and shall be served with all citations, summons, complaints,
notices and other documents required to be served on the curfew violator defendant.
D.
Any juvenile who shall violate any of the provisions
of this article more than three times shall be reported to the Chief of Police
to the juvenile authorities as a juvenile in need of supervision, and the
Chief of Police may proceed to file such charges with the courts as he or
she may deem appropriate.
E.
If, after warning notice pursuant to § 114-14 of a violation of this article, an operator of an establishment violates § 114-12 a second time, this shall be treated as a first offense by an operator, the fine shall be $50, and for each subsequent offense by an operator, the fine shall be increased by an additional $20, e.g., $70 for the second offense, $90 for the third offense.
