[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Town Council of the Town of North
Beach as Art. VI of the 1982 Code. Amendments noted where applicable.]
The Mayor and Council find that:
A.
An emergency has been created by a substantial increase
in the number and in the seriousness of crimes committed by minors against
persons and property within the town, and this has created a menace to the
preservation of public peace, safety, health, morals and welfare.
B.
The increase in juvenile delinquency has been caused
in part by the large number of minors who are permitted to remain in public
places and in certain establishments during evening hours without adult supervision.
C.
Late evening activity by certain of our youth prevents
them from concentrating on school homework, in class, or causes their absence
from class. The rate of absenteeism from school has risen alarmingly in recent
years while the achievement rate has rapidly decreased, resulting in an increase
in failures and dropouts.
D.
The problem of juvenile delinquency can be reduced by
regulating the hours during which minors may remain in public places and in
certain establishments without adult supervision, and by imposing certain
duties and responsibilities upon the parents or other adult persons who have
care and custody of minors.
In this chapter the following definitions apply:
Any privately owned place of business carried on for a profit or
any place of amusement or entertainment to which the public is invited.
Any person under the age of 18 years.
Any individual, firm, association, partnership or corporation, operating,
managing or conducting any establishment; and whenever used in any clause
prescribing a penalty, the term "operator" as applied to associations or partnerships
shall include the members or partners thereof, and as applied to corporations,
shall include the officers thereof.
Any natural parent of a minor, a guardian or any person 21 years
of age or over, responsible for the care and custody of a minor.
Any public street, highway, road, alley, park, playground, wharf,
dock public building or vacant lot.
To loiter, lounge, idle, wander, stroll or play in or upon.
A.
No minor shall remain in or upon any public place or
any establishment between the hours of 10:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m.
B.
Exceptions. The provisions of this section shall not
apply to:
(1)
Any minor accompanied by a parent or adult relative;
(2)
Nor to a minor upon an errand directed by such minor's
parent;
(3)
Nor to a minor attending a cultural, scholastic, athletic
or recreational activity supervised by a bona fide organization;
(4)
Nor to any minor who is engaged in gainful lawful employment
during the curfew hours.
No parent shall knowingly permit any minor not exempted under § 52-3 to remain in or upon any public place or any establishment between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m.
No operator of any establishment, or his agents or employees, shall
knowingly permit any minor to remain upon the premises of said establishment
between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m.
A.
Any police officer who finds a minor violating any provision
of this chapter shall obtain information from such minor as to his name and
address, age and the name of his parent or parents. The minor shall thereupon
be instructed to proceed to his home forthwith. The information obtained from
the minor shall be reported to the Police Department, which shall cause a
written notice to be mailed to the parent or parents of the minor, advising
of the violation of this Article.
B.
C.
Notice is presumed to be received by a parent if it is
deposited in a depository for mailing United States mail, properly addressed
and with the proper first class postage paid. Such mailing may be shown by
the records of the sending agency made in the regular course of its business.
