[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council of the Borough of
Towanda 2-5-1979 by Ord. No. 1-1979. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Loitering — See Ch. 181.
This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Curfew
Ordinance."
The purpose of this chapter is to update the Borough Curfew
Ordinance which prescribed, in accordance with prevailing community
standards, regulations for the conduct of minors on streets at night,
was effectively enforced, taught in the homes and 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.
BOROUGH
MINOR
PARENT
REMAIN
STREET
TIME OF NIGHT
YEAR OF AGE
For the purposes of the Curfew Ordinance, the following terms, phrases,
words and their derivations shall have the meanings given herein:
The Borough of Towanda, Bradford County, Pennsylvania with
administrative offices at 724 Main Street and police offices at 10
Park Street, Towanda, Pennsylvania 18848.
Any person under the age of 18 years or, in equivalent phrasing
often herein employed, any person 17 years of age or less.
Any person having legal custody of a minor as a natural or
adoptive parent, as a legal guardian, as a person who stands in loco
parentis or as a person to whom legal custody has been given by order
of court.
Includes to stay behind, to tarry and to stay unnecessarily, as upon the streets, including the congregating of groups or of interacting minors totalling four or more persons in which any minor involved would not be using the streets for reasonable purposes, such as mere passage or going home. To implement this definition with additional precision and precaution, numerous exceptions are expressly defined in § 128-5.
Includes a way or place of whatsoever nature open to the
use of the public as a matter of right 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 or 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" applies, irrespective
of what it shall be called or formally named, whether it is an alley,
avenue, court, road or otherwise.
As referred to herein, shall be 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
Borough, prima facie, the time then observed in the Borough 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 years of age or less is herein treated as equivalent
to the phrase "under 18 years of age." Similarly, for example, 11
years of age or less means under 12 years of age.
B.
When not inconsistent with the context, words used in the present
tense include the future; words in the plural number include the singular;
and the singular include the plural. The word "shall" is always mandatory
and not merely directory.
[Amended 9-11-2006 by Ord. No. 4-2006]
It shall be unlawful for any person under the age of 18 to be
or remain in or upon the streets within the Borough of Towanda, Pennsylvania,
during any period of time commencing at 10:00 p.m. and ending at 6:00
a.m.
A.
In the following exceptional cases, a minor on a Borough street during the nocturnal hours for which § 128-4 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 the Curfew Ordinance:
(1)
When accompanied by a parent.
(2)
When accompanied by an adult authorized by the 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 Communications Center
personnel, 701 Fourth Street, Towanda, Pennsylvania, 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 the parent of such minor with their home address and
telephone number, addressed to the Mayor of the Borough, specifying
when, where and in what manner said minor will be on the streets at
night, during hours when the Curfew Ordinance 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 Borough 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 the minor is on the sidewalk of the place where such minor resides
or on the sidewalk of either next-door neighbor not communicating
an objection to the police officer.
(6)
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.
(7)
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 Borough, either for a regulation as provided in Subsection A(8) or for a special permit as the circumstances warrant. Upon the Mayor's findings 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 the parent of such minor if feasible, stating the name, age and address of such minor; the name, address and telephone number of the 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.
(8)
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. 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 streets permitted, the period of time involved
not to exceed more than 30 minutes beyond the time of termination
of such activity and the reason for finding that such regulation is
reasonably necessary and is consistent with the public interest and
the purpose of this Curfew Ordinance.
(9)
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.
(10)
When the minor is, with parental consent, in a motor vehicle.
This contemplates normal travel and clearly exempts bona fide interstate
movement through Towanda, particularly on normal routes such as Route
6 and Route 220 and interstate travel beginning or ending in Towanda.
(11)
When the minor is 17 years of age, provided that the Mayor shall
have determined a minimal extent of reported juvenile delinquency
among seventeen-year-old minors and so reported to the Borough Council,
which report shall have been spread upon its minutes and made available
for publication in the press, then the Mayor is authorized to issue
a rule excepting from the operation of this Curfew Ordinance designated
minors 17 years of age in a defined group or graphic area or all minors
who have attained 17 years of age as of a given date or who shall
attain 17 years of age during the period the rule is in force, as
the Mayor may determine to be in the best interests of such minors
and of the Borough and consistent with the purposes of this chapter.
Such rule may cover a period of time designated therein but shall
not be effective for more than one year without further report to
the Borough Council.
B.
Each of the foregoing exceptions and their several limitations such
as provisions for notification, are severable exceptions and will
be considered by Council as warranted by future experience illuminated
by the views of student government associations, school personnel,
citizens, associations, ward and neighborhood spokesmen, parents,
officers and persons in authority concerned positively with minors,
as well as with juvenile delinquency.
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 Borough street under circumstances
not constituting an exception to or otherwise beyond the scope of
the Curfew Ordinance. 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.
A police officer of the Borough, upon finding or having attention
called to any minor on the streets in prima facie violation of the
Curfew Ordinance, shall take the minor to the Borough Police Station
where a parent shall immediately be notified to come for such minor,
and whereupon they shall be interrogated. This is intended to permit
ascertainment, under constitutional safeguards, of relevant facts
and to centralize responsibility in the police officer 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 police
officer on the street shall, in the first instance, use his best judgment
in determining age.
A.
Police procedures constantly shall be refined in the light of experience
and may provide, inter alia, that the police officer 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.
B.
In any event, such police officer shall file within 24 hours a written
report with the Chief of Police.
C.
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 and 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 availability or arrival
of a parent.
D.
In the case of a first violation by a minor, the Chief of Police
shall send, by certified mail, to a parent, written notice of said
violation, with a warning that any subsequent violation will result
in full enforcement of the Curfew Ordinance, 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 Curfew Ordinance are hereby undergirded with the following legal
sanctions:
A.
If, after the warning notice pursuant to § 128-7 of a first violation by a minor, a parent violates § 128-6 in connection with a second violation by said minor, this shall be treated as a first offense by the parent. For summary conviction of such first parental offense, the fine shall be $25, and for each subsequent offense by a parent, the fine shall be increased by an additional $25, e.g., $50 for the second offense, $75 for the third offense, up to a maximum of not more than $300. The Magisterial District Judge, 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 the costs, the parent shall be imprisoned in the jail of Bradford County for a period not to exceed 10 days.
[Amended 9-11-2006 by Ord. No. 4-2006]
B.
Any minor who shall violate any of the provisions of the Curfew Ordinance
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.[1]
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 the
Curfew Ordinance cannot be made effective by the imposing of penalties
under this section.
Severability is intended throughout and within the provisions
of the Curfew Ordinance. 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 the Curfew Ordinance 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
the ordinance 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
Borough Administration Building, questioning as ambiguous, having
a potentially chilling effect on constitutional rights specifically
invoked or 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. Borough Council does not intend a result
that is absurd, impossible of execution or unreasonable. It is intended
that the Curfew Ordinance be held inapplicable in such cases, if any,
where its application would be unconstitutional. A constitutional
construction is intended and shall be given. Council does not intend
to violate the construction of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or
the Constitution of the United States of America.
Borough Council will continue its evaluation and updating of
the Curfew Ordinance.
A.
Accordingly, there shall be compiled and informally reported to Borough
Council through effective channels, such as the normal monthly distribution
by the Borough Manager and Borough Secretary to each Councilman, the
Mayor and the Borough Solicitor of noteworthy material, all exceptional
cases hereunder of reasonable necessity, the notices of school and
other activities, the Mayor's special permits, the Mayor's
regulations hereinabove authorized and the Mayor's advisory opinions
for consideration by the appropriate committee and by Borough Council
in further updating and continuing evaluation of the Curfew Ordinance.
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 Borough Council, through their respective Chairmen in
coordinated efforts, shall work with existing and may organize voluntary
groups and shall stimulate volunteer leadership in programs of research
and of action 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 years of age or less and with the working of the Curfew
Ordinance in the community 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 Borough of Towanda.
