A. Proper Adult Supervision Required: Parent and child responsibility should be encouraged to limit activity which endangers the public health, safety, and welfare of the citizens of Gallup, New Mexico, and therefore proper adult supervision of minor children should be required.
B. Curfew For Minors In Commercial Areas: Minor children under the age of twelve (12) years shall not be unsupervised in any public or private commercial area within the city of Gallup after ten o'clock (10:00) P.M. Minor children from the age of twelve (12) years up to the age of fifteen (15) years shall not be unsupervised in any public or private commercial area within the city of Gallup after eleven o'clock (11:00) P.M. Minor children from the age of fifteen (15) years to under the age of eighteen (18) years shall not be unsupervised in any public or private commercial area within the city of Gallup after twelve o'clock (12:00) midnight.
C. Detainment Of Unsupervised Minors: The city of Gallup police department is hereby authorized to detain any minor child found unsupervised in any public or private commercial area within the city of Gallup and to notify the parent, legal guardian, or adult custodian to immediately come to the location where the subject child is found or to the Gallup police department public safety building to take possession of the child and return them to their home. If no parent, legal guardian, or adult custodian of the subject child can be contacted within a reasonable period of time the Gallup police shall inform the state children, youth and families department and turn the child over to said agency.
D. Offenses: Any parent, legal guardian, or adult custodian of an unsupervised minor child found to be in violation of this section shall for a first offense be issued a warning citation. For second and subsequent offenses the parent, legal guardian, or adult custodian shall be summoned into municipal court and if found guilty of violation of this section be fined an amount not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500.00). In addition to any fine and court costs imposed by the municipal court, the court may refer the subject family to the state department of children, youth and families for such action as that agency deems proper.
E. Compliance With Probationary Orders: The municipal court may order the subject child, parent, legal guardian, or adult custodian, as a condition of probation, which shall not exceed ninety (90) days, to engage in approved family or individual counseling, such as parenting classes. Should any person fail to comply with counseling or other probationary orders of the municipal court, the court may enforce such orders by the use of its powers of contempt, after notice and hearing.
F. Warning Citation On File: When a warning citation is issued to any parent, legal guardian, or adult custodian who fails to comply with this section it shall be maintained on file with the municipal court for a period of five (5) years.
G. Penalty Provisions: The penalty for a subsequent violation shall be a fine not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500.00) and/or ninety (90) days probation upon such conditions the court deems fit.
H. Definition: "Supervision" is defined as being in the actual physical presence of the subject minor child.
I. Exemptions: Exemptions from prosecution are when the subject minor child is: 1) within their private residential dwelling or yard thereof; 2) in a hotel or motel room rented to the parent, legal guardian, or adult custodian of the subject child and said adult is physically present in said room; 3) in a group of minor children at an organized sponsored school, recreational, or religious activity and some responsible adult is monitoring said activity or; 4) gainfully employed on the premises of a private commercial business.
J. Affirmative Defense: A parent, legal guardian, or adult custodian may assert as an affirmative defense to prosecution hereunder that the subject child wilfully and intentionally left the physical proximity of said adult or wilfully and intentionally disobeyed the express instructions of said adult to remain at an exempt location or participate in an exempt activity. (Ord. 2008-6, 12-9-2008)