(A) (1) No child under the age of 16 years shall wander about or be in or upon any street, alley, park or other public place within the corporate limits of the city, after midnight on weekdays and to 1:00 a.m. on Sundays, without being on any lawful business or occupation, unless accompanied at the time by a parent or guardian, as herein defined.
(2) A “parent” is herein defined as either a natural or adopted parent, and a “guardian” is hereby defined as either a legal guardian or a person standing in the position of loco parentis of the child, or an adult who is accompanying the child with the consent of the child’s parents or guardian as herein defined.
(3) Any child wandering about or in or upon any street, alley, park or other public place within the corporate limits of the city, during the time, as hereinabove provided, unaccompanied by a parent or guardian, as hereinabove defined, shall be taken into custody by the police of the city, who shall determine that if the spirit and letter of the laws of the state and this section can best be served by taking the child to the child’s home, such shall be done, or the police officer in whose custody the child is, shall contact the parent or guardian, if possible, to come and take custody of the child.
(4) In the event a parent or guardian should fail to immediately and within a reasonable time take custody of the child from the police officer, the parent or guardian shall be deemed guilty of an offense.
(5) In the event, in the judgment of the police officer in whose custody the child is, it would not be for the best interest of the child to turn the custody of the child to the parent or guardian of the child, the police officer shall immediately contact the Chief of Police of the city, or his or her assistant in charge, and if in the judgment of the Chief of Police or his or her assistant in charge, it would best serve the interest of the child that proceedings be had in connection with the laws of the state in connection with dependent, neglected or delinquent children, then the Chief of Police shall cause the child to be delivered to the custody of the proper county official and notify immediately the associate district judge of the county of the action, for further proceedings as may be determined by the proper officials, as provided by law.
(`90 Code, § 14-41)
(B) (1) It is unlawful for any minor under the age of 18 years to loiter by remaining idle, by wandering, strolling or playing in or upon the public streets, highways, roads, alleys, parks, playgrounds or other public grounds, public places and public buildings, vacant lots or other unsupervised places between the hours of 12:00 midnight and 6:00 a.m. of the following day, official city time, provided however, that the provisions of this section do not apply to a minor accompanied by his or her parent, guardian or other adult person having the care and custody of the minor, or where the minor is upon an errand or business directed by his or her parent, guardian or other adult person having the care and custody of the minor, or where the minor is upon an errand or business directed by his or her parent, guardian or other adult person having the care and custody of the minor. Each violation of the provisions of this section constitutes a separate offense.
(2) It is unlawful for the parent, guardian or other adult person having the care and custody of a minor under the age of 18 years to knowingly permit the minor to loiter by remaining idle, by wandering, strolling or playing in or upon the public streets, highways, roads, alleys, parks, playgrounds or other unsupervised places, between the hours of 12:00 midnight and 6:00 a.m. of the following day, official city time.
(3) This section does not apply to a minor who is:
(a) Accompanied by the minor’s parent or guardian;
(b) On an errand at the direction of the minor’s parent or guardian, without any detour or stop;
(c) In a motor vehicle involved in interstate travel;
(d) Engaged in an employment activity, or going to or returning home from an employment activity, without any detour or stop;
(e) Involved in an emergency;
(f) Attending an official school, religious, or other recreational activity supervised by adults and sponsored by the city, a civic organization, or another similar entity that takes responsibility for the minor, or going to or returning home from, without any detour or stop, an official school, religious, or other recreational activity supervised by adults and sponsored by the city, a civic organization, or another similar entity that takes responsibility for the minor;
(g) On the sidewalk abutting the minor’s residence or abutting the residence of a next-door neighbor if the neighbor did not complain to the police department about the minor’s presence;
(h) 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; or
(i) Married or had been married or had disabilities of minority removed in accordance with state law.
(4) Each violation of the provisions of this section constitutes a separate offense.
(5) Any parent, guardian or other adult person having the care and custody of a minor violating division (A) above is guilty of a violation.
(`90 Code, § 14-41.1) (Ord. 2961, passed 4-21-92)
(C) Any parent or guardian of a child under the age of 16 years knowingly permitting the child to wander about or be in or upon any street, alley, park or other public place within the corporate limits of the city, unaccompanied by a parent or guardian, during the hours as herein provided, and the child not being upon any lawful business or occupation, shall be deemed guilty of an offense.
(`90 Code, § 14-42)
(D) It is further provided that the Chief of Police of the city shall keep or cause to be kept a confidential record of any proceedings under this section insofar as children are concerned, which record shall not be available for public inspection and shall be kept confidential and revealed only to the associate district judge of the county and the records shall at all times be available to the County Judge.
(`90 Code, § 14-43)
(E) (1) This section is enacted for the purpose of assisting in the enforcement of the laws and general public policy, adopted in the state in regard to dependent and neglected and delinquent children and for the protection of children of tender years, and the sections shall be enforced in accordance with the laws and public policy of the state, and shall not be considered or enforced as punishment for a child under the age of 16 years, but for the protection and care and assistance to the children, as provided by the laws of the state.
(2) The police of the city are by this section authorized and directed to aid and assist, within the corporate limits of the city, in the enforcement of all the laws of the state, in regard to dependent and neglected and delinquent children. The police of the city are further directed to enforce, within the corporate limits of the city, all laws of the state, in regard to contributing to the delinquency of minors.
(`90 Code, § 14-44)