[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of
the City of Monessen 2-18-2004 by Res. No. 2-2004. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
This chapter shall be known and may be cited
as the "Curfew Ordinance."
This is an updating of the City Curfew Ordinance
prescribing, in accordance with prevailing community standards, regulations
for the conduct of minors on streets at night, effectively enforced,
taught in the homes, internalized and adhered to for generations,
all for the good of minors, for the furtherance of family responsibility
and for the public good, safety and welfare.
A.
CITY
MINOR
PARENT
PUBLIC SIDEWALK
REMAIN
STREET
TIME OF NIGHT
YEAR OF AGE
For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms,
phrases, words and their derivations shall have the meanings given
herein:
The City of Monessen, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania.
Any person under the age of 18 or, in equivalent phrasing
often herein employed, any person 17 or fewer years of age.
Any person having legal custody of a minor:
Any sidewalk, of any material, or that portion of a street
between the curblines, or the lateral lines of a roadway, and the
adjacent property lines, intended for the use of pedestrians, within
the City.
[Added 9-14-2021 by Ord.
No. 1245]
To stay behind, to tarry and to stay unnecessarily upon the streets, including the congregating of groups (or of interacting minors) totaling four or more persons, in which any minor involved would not be using the streets for ordinary or serious purposes, such as mere passage or going home. To implement that thought with additional precision and precaution, numerous exceptions are expressly defined in § 175-5. More and more exceptions become available with increasing years as appropriate in the interest of reasonable regulation which is intended by use of the meaningful phrase "be or remain" found constitutional in Baker v. Borough of Steelton, 17 Dauph. 17 (1912).
A way or place, of whatever nature, open to the use of the
public for purposes of vehicular travel or, in the case of a sidewalk
thereof, for pedestrian travel. The term "street" includes the legal
right-of-way, including but not limited to the cartway of traffic
lanes, the curb, the sidewalks, whether paved or unpaved, and any
grass plots or other grounds found within the legal right-of-way of
a street. The term "street" also applies, for curfew purposes, to
ways the public is privileged to use over private property so long
as the owner permits, including sidewalks and grass plots similarly
open at the time to public use, and to parking areas of any type (residential,
municipal or commercial) open to public use or from such street or
any type of street. The term "street" applies irrespective of what
it is called or formally named, whether alley, avenue, court, road
or otherwise, or whether it is maintained by the City and irrespective
of whether it is open to the use of the public as a matter of right.
Based upon the prevailing standard of time, whether Eastern
standard time or Eastern daylight saving time, generally observed
at that hour by the public in the city, prima facie the time then
observed in the City administrative offices and police station.
Continues from one birthday, such as the 17th, to (but not
including the day of) the next, such as the 18th birthday, making
it clear that 17 or fewer years of age is herein treated as equivalent
to the phrase "under 18 years of age," the latter phrase in practice,
unfortunately, having confused a number of persons into the mistaken
thought that eighteen-year-olds might be involved. Similarly, for
example, 11 or fewer years of age means "under 12 years of age."
B.
When not inconsistent with the context, words used
in the present tense shall include the future, words in the plural
number shall include the singular, and words in the singular number
shall include the plural. The word "shall" is always mandatory and
not merely directory.
[Amended 10-15-2003 by Ord. No. 6-2003; 9-14-2021 by Ord. No. 1245]
It shall be unlawful for any person 17 or fewer years of age
(under 18) to be or remain in or upon the streets or public sidewalks
and rights-of-way within the City of Monessen at night, during the
period ending at 6:00 a.m. and beginning at 10:00 p.m. for minors
under the age of 18 years.
[Amended 9-14-2021 by Ord. No. 1245]
A.
In the following exceptional cases, a minor on a street within the City during the nocturnal hours for which § 175-4 is intended to provide the maximum limits of regulation (and a clear general guide for minors, their parents and their fellow citizens) shall not, however, be considered in violation of this chapter:
(1)
When accompanied by a parent of such minor.
(2)
When accompanied by an adult authorized by a parent of such minor
to take said parent's place in accompanying said minor for a
designated period of time and purpose within a specified area.
(3)
When exercising First Amendment rights protected by the United States
Constitution, such as the free exercise of religion, freedom of speech
and the right of assembly. Such minor shall evidence the bona fides
of such exercise by first delivering to the City Municipal Building,
where and by whom high-priority messages to the Mayor are regularly
received, a written communication, signed by such minor and countersigned,
if practicable, by a parent of such minor, with their home address
and telephone number, addressed to the Mayor of the City, specifying
when, where and in what manner said minor will be on the streets at
night (during hours when this chapter is otherwise applicable to said
minor) in the exercise of a First Amendment right specified in such
communication.
(4)
In case of reasonable necessity, but only after such minor's
parent has communicated to the City police station personnel the facts
establishing such reasonable necessity, relating to specified streets
at a designated time for a described purpose, including points of
origin and destination. A copy of such communication, or of the police
record thereof, duly certified by the Chief of Police to be correct,
with an appropriate notation of the time it was received and of the
names and address of such parent and minor, shall be admissible evidence.
(5)
When returning home, by a direct route from (and within 30 minutes
of the termination of) a school activity or an activity of a religious
or other voluntary association of which prior notice, indicating the
place and probable time of termination, has been given in writing
to and duly filed for immediate reference by the Chief of Police or
the officer assigned by him on duty at the police station, thus encouraging
(here as in other exceptional situations) conduct on the part of minors
involved in such activities and striking a fair balance for any somewhat
conflicting interests.
(6)
When authorized, by special permit from the Mayor, carried on the person of the minor thus authorized, as follows: When necessary nighttime activities of a minor may be inadequately provided for by other provisions of this chapter, then recourse may be had to the Mayor of the City, either for a regulation as provided in Subsection A(7) or for a special permit as the circumstances warrant. Upon the Mayor's finding of necessity for the use of the streets to the extent warranted by a written application (as judicially approved in People v. Walton, 161 P. 2d 498, 502 — 503, Cal. App. 1945), signed by a minor and by a parent of such minor, if feasible, stating the name, age and address of such minor; the name, address and telephone number of a parent thereof; the height, weight, sex, color of eyes and hair and other physical characteristics of such minor; the necessity which requires such minor to remain upon the streets during the curfew hours otherwise applicable; and the street or route and the beginning and ending of the period of time involved by date and hour, the Mayor may grant a permit, in writing, for the use by such minor of such streets at such hours as, in the Mayor's opinion, may reasonably be necessary. In an emergency, this may be handled by telephone or other effective communication, with a corresponding record being made contemporaneously, either to the Mayor or, if unavailable, to the police officer authorized by the Mayor to act on his behalf in an emergency at the police station.
(7)
When authorized, by regulation issued by the Mayor, in other similar
cases of reasonable necessity, similarly handled but adapted to necessary
nighttime activities of more minors than can readily be dealt with
on an individual special permit basis. Normally such regulation by
the Mayor permitting use of the streets should be issued sufficiently
in advance to permit appropriate publicity through news media and
through other agencies such as the schools and shall define the activity,
the scope of the use of the streets permitted, the period of time
involved, not to extend more than 30 minutes beyond the time for termination
of such activity, and the reason for finding that such regulation
is reasonably necessary and is consistent with the purposes of this
chapter.
(8)
When the minor carries a certified card of employment, renewable
each calendar month when the current facts so warrant, dated or reissued
not more than 45 days previously, signed by the Chief of Police and
briefly identifying the minor, the addresses of his home and of his
place of employment and his hours of employment.
(9)
When the minor is, with parental consent, in a motor vehicle. This
contemplates normal travel. From excess of caution, this clearly exempts
bona fide interstate movement through Monessen, particularly on normal
routes. This also exempts interstate travel beginning or ending in
Monessen.
(10)
When the minor is 17 years of age, if and when the Mayor shall
have determined, by formal rule first reported to the City Council,
spread upon its minutes and so reported in the press, finding the
facts as to the extent (minimal) of juvenile delinquency in such age
group permitting such rule, currently, in the best interest of said
minors and of the City, then the Mayor, by such formal rule, covering
a period of time designated therein or until rescission thereof, not
exceeding one year from the date thereof, may take appropriate action
excepting designated minors, minors in a defined group or area or
all minors (as the current facts may warrant) 17 years of age at the
date or attaining 17 years of age during the period that such formal
rule is and remains in effect.
B.
Each of the foregoing exceptions and their several limitations, such
as provisions for notification, are severable, as hereinafter provided
but here reemphasized; and additional, also severable, exceptions,
broadening with the progress toward maturity of minors enrolled respectively
in elementary, junior high and high schools, will be considered by
the Council as warranted by future experience illuminated by the views
of student government associations, school personnel, citizens, associations,
ward, precinct and neighborhood spokesmen, parents, officers and persons
in authority concerned positively with minors as well as with juvenile
delinquency.
[Amended 9-14-2021 by Ord. No. 1245]
It shall be unlawful for a parent having legal custody of a
minor knowingly to permit or by inefficient control to allow such
minor to be or remain upon any street or public sidewalk or right-of-way
within the City under circumstances not constituting an exception
to or otherwise beyond the scope of this chapter. The term "knowingly"
includes knowledge which a parent should reasonably be expected to
have concerning the whereabouts of a minor in that parent's legal
custody. It is intended to continue to keep neglectful or careless
parents up to a reasonable community standard of parental responsibility
through an objective test. It shall, a fortiori, be no defense that
a parent was completely indifferent to the activities or conduct or
whereabouts of such minor.
[Amended 9-14-2021 by Ord. No. 1245]
A.
A police officer of the City, upon finding or having attention called
to any minor on the streets, public sidewalks, or public rights-of-way,
in prima facie violation of this chapter, normally shall take the
minor to the City police station, where a parent shall immediately
be notified to come for such minor, whereupon they shall be interrogated.
This is intended to permit ascertainment, under constitutional safeguards,
of relevant facts and to centralize responsibility in the Sergeant
there and then on duty for accurate, effective, fair, impartial and
uniform enforcement and recording, thus making available experienced
supervisory personnel, the best of facilities and access to information
and records. In the absence of convincing evidence, such as a birth
certificate, a policeman on the street shall, in the first instance,
use his best judgment in determining age.
B.
Police procedures shall constantly be refined in the light of experience
and may provide, inter alia, that the policeman may deliver to a parent
thereof a minor under appropriate circumstances, for example a minor
of tender age near home whose identity and address may readily be
ascertained or are known.
C.
In any event, such policeman 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 is responsible, in the preparation,
by himself and the Sergeant involved in such case, and in the filing
of such report within 24 hours.
D.
When a parent, immediately called, has come to take charge of the
minor and the appropriate information has been recorded, the minor
shall be released to the custody of such parent. If the parent cannot
be located or fails to take charge of the minor, then the minor shall
be released to the juvenile authorities, except to the extent that,
in accordance with police regulations, approved in advance by juvenile
authorities, the minor may temporarily be entrusted to a relative,
neighbor or other person who will, on behalf of a parent, assume the
responsibility of caring for the minor pending the availability or
arrival of a parent.
E.
In the case of a first violation by a minor, the Chief of Police
shall, by certified mail, send to a parent written notice of said
violation, with a warning that any subsequent violation will result
in full enforcement of this chapter, including enforcement of parental
responsibility and of applicable penalties.
Prevailing community standards and the real
internalization thereof or interpersonal sanctions therefor that,
in practice, count for much, as to when minors should be off the streets,
reflected in this chapter, are hereby undergirded with the following
legal sanctions:
A.
If, after the warning notice pursuant to § 175-7 of a first violation by a minor, a parent violates § 175-6 (in connection with a second violation by said minor), this shall be treated as a first offense by the parent. For such first parental offense, a parent shall be fined $25, and for each subsequent offense by a parent, the fine shall be increased by an additional $25 (e.g., $50 for the second, $75 for the third offense). The District Justice, upon finding a parent guilty, shall sentence the parent to pay such fine and the costs of prosecution and, upon refusal to pay such fine and costs, to be imprisoned in the jail of Westmoreland County for a period not exceeding 10 days.
B.
Any minor who shall violate any of the provisions
of this chapter more than three times shall be reported by the Mayor
to a society or organization whose purpose it is to take charge of
incorrigibles and delinquents, and proceedings shall then be taken,
under the Juvenile Act, 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 6301 et seq., before
the Juvenile Court for the treatment, supervision and rehabilitation
of such minor.
C.
A like procedure before the juvenile authorities shall
be followed in any case where the imposing of a fine or fines upon
a parent shall not be effective or where, for any other reason, the
provisions of this chapter cannot be made effective by the imposing
of penalties under this section.
Severability is intended throughout and within
the provisions of this chapter. If any provision, including inter
alia any exception, part, phrase or term or the application thereof
to any person or circumstance, is held invalid, the application to
other persons or circumstances shall not be affected thereby, and
the validity of this chapter, in any and all other respects, shall
not be affected thereby. From excess of caution, the Mayor is authorized
to give advisory opinions, in writing or immediately reduced to writing,
which shall be binding and shall be adhered to by the police until
this chapter is amended in such respect, interpreting terms, phrases,
parts or any provisions. Normally such advisory opinions shall be
in response to good faith, signed letters, addressed to him at the
City administration building, questioning as ambiguous, as having
a potentially chilling effect on constitutional rights specifically
invoked or as otherwise invalid, in all three categories with respect
to proposed conduct definitely described. This administrative remedy
must be exhausted prior to presenting to any court a question in any
of said three categories. The City Council does not intend a result
that is absurd, impossible of execution or unreasonable. It is intended
that this chapter be held inapplicable in such cases, if any, where
its application would be unconstitutional. A constitutional construction
is intended and shall be given. The Council does not intend to violate
the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or the Constitution
of the United States of America.
The City Council will continue its evaluation
and updating of this chapter.
A.
Accordingly, there shall be compiled and informally
reported to the City Council through effective channels (such as the
normal monthly distribution by the City Manager and City Secretary
to each Councilman, the Mayor and the City Solicitor of noteworthy
material) all exceptional cases hereunder of reasonable necessity,
the notices of school and other activities, the Mayor's special permits
and the Mayor's regulations hereinbefore authorized, and the Mayor's
advisory opinions, for consideration by the appropriate committee
and by the City Council in further updating and continuing evaluation
of this chapter.
B.
For the same reasons, as well as for the implementation
beyond these legal aspects of the basic purposes hereof, the Mayor
and relevant committees of the City Council, through their respective
Chairmen, in coordinated efforts, shall work with existing groups
and may organize voluntary groups and shall stimulate volunteer leadership
in programs of research and of action dealing constructively, on neighborhood
and local bases, with juvenile delinquency and the prevention, control
or containment thereof in all its ramifications and with practicable
steps toward the good life and a better life for minors 17 or fewer
years of age and with the working of this chapter, communitywise and
in individual cases, as one much needed legal tool toward that end
as well as for continuing present protection of minors and of other
persons and of property and other interests important to the welfare
of the people of the City of Monessen.
