This Crimes, Conduct and Disposition of Offenders Chapter describes offenses deemed undesirable in the Town of Dewey Beach and governs the elements of a crime and punishment for any criminal offense set forth herein by ordinance and committed after May 1, 2010. By reference hereto, the Town of Dewey Beach adopts, in so much as specific language is contained in a state statute of Title 11 of the Delaware Code, Crimes and Criminal Procedure, to be the same identifiable sections in Chapter 85, unless altered, amended or modified by this or any other ordinance, in and for the Municipal Code of the Town of Dewey Beach. In support of any definition, words or phrases and as to the construction of any language not specified in this chapter for any other violation of the law within the jurisdiction of the Alderman Court to adjudicate, the sections of Chapter 85 shall be for all intents and purposes the same as those offenses codified in Title 11 of the Delaware Code, as from time to time may be amended or modified. Any offenses charged under the old sections before April 30, 2010, are to be prosecuted under the prior sections and not these new ordinances.
The general purposes of this chapter are:
(A)
To proscribe conduct which is believed to cause or threaten harm
to any individual or property and thereby by such action cause a breach
of the peace, public safety, health or good order of the Town and
to the interests of the inhabitants thereof.
(B)
To give fair warning of the nature of the prohibited conduct and
of the sentences authorized to be rendered upon conviction thereof.
(A)
No conduct shall constitute a criminal offense in the Town of Dewey
Beach unless it is made a criminal offense by this chapter or by another
law.
(B)
Conduct breaching the peace and good order of the Town of Dewey Beach
as proscribed herein and occurring within the limits of the Town shall
be prosecuted in the Alderman Court of the Town of Dewey Beach.
(C)
This section does not limit the power of the Alderman Court to punish
for civil violations, contempt of court or to employ any sanction
authorized by law for the enforcement of an order of any court for
a criminal misdemeanor or violation, civil violation, judgment or
decree.
The general rule that a penal statute is to be strictly construed
does not apply to this chapter; however, the provisions herein must
be construed according to the fair import of their terms to promote
justice and affect the purpose of the law to prevent a breach of peace
and to protect the health, safety and welfare of the citizens and
visitors of the Town of Dewey Beach and their property.
Unless otherwise provided by ordinance, prosecutions for offenses
proscribed in this chapter are subject to time limitation and an action
must be commenced with securing a warrant for arrest, upon articulated
probable cause, within one year; or the issuance of a complaint and
summons upon reasonable cause and belief in the case of a criminal
violation or misdemeanor within 90 days; or for any civil violation,
within 30 days after the offense is committed.
(A)
Any action, case, prosecution, trial or other legal proceeding set
in progress shall be preserved and shall not become illegal or terminated
upon the adoption of this chapter. For the purposes of such proceedings,
the elements for prosecution, existing at the time of the offense,
shall remain in full force and effect until such matter is lawfully
concluded.
(B)
In the event the penalty for a violation is amended or repealed,
irrespective of the stage of such proceeding and time limitation,
unless an amending act expressly provides to the contrary any disposition
of the offender realized under the chapter or section of the offense,
at the time the offense was committed, shall apply.
