(A) Offenses against the public.
(1) The purpose and intent of this section is to narrowly tailor the restriction of late-night activities of juveniles to the extent juvenile crime is reduced and juveniles, as well as other citizens, and their property are protected from harm.
(2) Juveniles are particularly vulnerable to the influences of persons who do not have the best interests of the juvenile in mind, due to the inability of juveniles to make important or critical decisions in an informed and mature matter and to avoid choices which could be detrimental to their health, safety and welfare.
(3) The concern has arisen in the community that certain activities by juveniles and adults, during the late night hours, endanger the health, safety and welfare of other persons and their property.
(4) The city does not desire to interfere with parent-child or parent-juvenile relationships or the parental right to raise their children or juveniles.
(5) While the city recognizes parents and/or responsible adults need wide latitude in supervising their children, the city desires to protect juveniles from nocturnal dangers, and encourage parental responsibility.
(6) The public purpose of this section is to protect juveniles from nocturnal dangers, enhance parental supervision and responsibility of juveniles and protect the public at-large.
(B) Responsibility of owners of public places. It shall be unlawful for a person operating or having charge of any public place to knowingly allow, permit or suffer the presence of juveniles in violation of the curfew established by this section.
(C) Definitions. For the purpose of this section, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
CURFEW HOURS.
(a) The following:
1. 10:00 p.m. until 7:00 a.m. on any Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday; and
2. 12:01 a.m. until 7:00 a.m. on any Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
(b) CURFEW HOURS referred to here are based upon the prevailing standard of time, whether Central Standard Time or Central Daylight Saving Time, generally observed at that hour by the public.
EMERGENCY. An unforeseen combination of circumstances, or the resulting state that calls for immediate action. The term includes, but is not limited to, a fire, natural disaster, automobile accident or any situation requiring immediate action to prevent serious bodily injury or loss of life.
ESTABLISHMENT. Any privately owned place of business operated for profit to which the public is invited, but not limited to any place of amusement or entertainment.
GUARDIAN.
(a) A person who, under court order, is the guardian of the person of a juvenile; or
(b) A public or private agency with whom a juvenile has been placed by the court.
JUVENILE. Any person 17 years of age, or under 17 years of age. Year of age continues from one birthday, such as the seventeenth to (but not including the day of) the next, such as the eighteenth birthday, making it clear that 17 or less years of age is herein treated as equivalent to the phrase “under the age of 18 years of age”.
KNOWINGLY PERMIT. The parent, other responsible adult and/or operator, as defined herein, is aware of the fact the juvenile is in violation of the curfew hours or that said person, by exercise of reasonable care, would have known that the juvenile is in violation of the curfew hours.
PARENT. A person who is a natural parent, adoptive parent or step-parent of another person.
PUBLIC PLACE. Any place to which the public or a substantial group of the public has access and includes, but is not limited to, streets, alleys, sidewalks, playgrounds, highways, common areas of schools, apartment houses, parks, office buildings, hospitals, transport facilities and retail establishments.
REMAIN. To:
(a) Linger or stay; or
(b) Fail to leave premises when requested by a police officer, or the owner, operator or authorized person in control of the premises.
RESPONSIBLE ADULT. Any person having, assuming or charged with permanent and/or temporary care and/or custody of a juvenile, including, but limited to:
(a) Any legal guardian or adult exercising legal guardianship over a juvenile;
(b) An adult who stands in loco parentis to a juvenile;
(c) Any person to whom legal custody of a juvenile has been given by order of a court;
(d) Any adult who has, assumes or is charged with the care and/or custody of a juvenile at the request of, or on behalf of, a parent, guardian, loco parentis; or a person to whom legal custody has been given by order of a court; and
(e) Any adult who has, assumes or is charged with the care and/or custody of a juvenile at the request of, or on behalf of, another parent.
(D) Offenses.
(1) A juvenile commits an offense if he or she remains in any public place or on the premises of any establishment within the corporate limits of the city during curfew hours.
(2) A parent and/or responsible adult of a juvenile commits an offense if:
(a) He or she knowingly permits or allows the juvenile to remain in any public place or on the premises of any establishment within the corporate city limits during curfew hours; and
(b) The parent and/or responsible adult of the juvenile has previously been cited so as to knowingly permit or allow a juvenile to remain in any pubic place or on the premises of any establishment within the corporate limits of the city during curfew hours. Every subsequent violation thereof will constitute a separate violation.
(3) The owner, operator or any employee of an establishment commits an offense if he or she knowingly permits or allows a juvenile to remain upon the premises of the establishment during curfew hours.
(E) Defenses. It is a defense to prosecution under division (D) above that the juvenile was at the time in question:
(1) Accompanied by the juvenile’s parent or responsible adult. The responsible adult must be an adult authorized by a parent of such juvenile to take said parent’s place in accompanying said juvenile for a designated period of time and purpose within a specified area;
(2) Engaged in any lawful employment activity, or going to or returning home from a lawful employment activity without any detour or stop;
(3) Involved in an emergency;
(4) In a motor vehicle involved in interstate or intrastate traffic. INTRASTATE TRAFFIC means to the city from a point outside the city limits for the purpose of returning to one’s home or from the city to a point outside the city limits. INTERSTATE TRAFFIC means all other traffic moving through said city from a point outside the city limits to a point outside the city limits and stopping in said city for the purpose of nourishment and/or service to one’s mode of transportation;
(5) Attending, going to or returning home without any detour or stop from an official school, religious or other recreational activity supervised by adults, or an event sponsored by the city, a civic organization or any recognized entity that takes responsibility for the juvenile;
(6) On an errand at the direction of the juvenile’s parents or responsible adult, without any detour or stop;
(7) Exercising First Amendment rights protected by the United States Constitution, or other rights protected by the Unites States or State Constitution, such as the free exercise of “religion”, freedom of speech and the right of assembly. Such juvenile shall evidence the bona fides of such exercise by possessing a written communication, signed in such juvenile and countersigned by a parent of such juvenile and with his, her or their home address and telephone number, specifying when, and where and in what manner, said juvenile will be in or on a public place at night (during hours when this section is otherwise applicable to said juvenile) in the exercise of a First Amendment right specified in such communication;
(8) When the juvenile is on the sidewalk of the place where such juvenile resides, or on the sidewalk of either next-door neighbor not communicating an objection to a police officer;
(9) The juvenile is married or has been married;
(10) When authorized by regulation issued by the City Council, in other similar cases of reasonable necessity, similarly handled but adapted to necessary night-time activities of more minors that can readily be dealt with on an individual special permit basis. Normally, such regulation by the City Council permitting use of a public place 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 public places permitted, the period of time involved not to exceed 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 public interest and the purposes of this section; and
(11) It is a defense to prosecution under division (D)(3) above that the owner, operator or employee of an establishment promptly notify the Police Department that a juvenile was present on the premises of the establishment during curfew hours and refused to leave.
(F) Enforcement.
(1) Generally. Before taking any enforcement action under this division (F), a police officer shall ask the apparent offender’s reason for being in the public place. The police officer shall not issue a citation or make an arrest under this division (F) unless the officer reasonably believes that an offense has occurred and, based on circumstances, no defense in division (E) above is present.
(2) Parental or responsible adult responsibility.
(a) It shall be unlawful for a parent or responsible adult having legal custody of a juvenile knowingly to permit or by inefficient control to allow such juvenile to be or remain in or upon any public place or under circumstances not constituting an exception to, or otherwise beyond the scope of this section.
(b) The term KNOWINGLY includes knowledge which a parent or responsible adult should reasonably be expected to have concerning the whereabouts of a juvenile in that parent’s or responsible adult’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.
(c) It shall not be a defense that a parent or responsible adult is completely indifferent to the activities or conduct or whereabouts of such juvenile.
(3) Police procedures.
(a) A police officer of the city, upon finding or having attention culled to any juvenile in or on a public place is a prima facie violation of this section; the police officer, normally, shall take the juvenile to the city police station, or other place designated by the Chief of Police, where a parent or responsible adult shall immediately be notified to come for such juvenile whereupon he, she or they (parent and/or responsible adult and juvenile) shall be interrogated. This is intended to permit ascertainment, under constitutional safeguards, of relevant facts, and to centralize responsibility in the personnel 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 or her best judgment in determining age.
(b) Police procedures shall constantly be refined in the light of experience and may provide that the police officer may deliver to a parent or responsible adult, as the case may be, thereof a juvenile under appropriate circumstances, for example a juvenile of tender age near home whose identity may readily be ascertained or are known.
(c) When a parent or responsible adult, immediately called, has come to take charge of the juvenile, and the appropriate information has been recorded, the juvenile shall be released to the custody of such parent or responsible adult. If the parent or responsible adult cannot be located, or fails to take charge of the juvenile, then the juvenile shall be released to the juvenile authorities, except to the extent that in accordance with police regulations, approved in advance by juvenile authorities, the juvenile may temporarily be entrusted to a relative, neighbor or other person who will, on behalf of a parent or responsible adult, assume the responsibility of caring for juvenile pending the availability or arrival of such parent or responsible adult.
(d) In the case of a first violation by a juvenile, the Chief of Police shall cause to be personally delivered or, by certified mail, send to a parent or responsible adult, as the case may be, written notice of said violation with a warning that any subsequent violation will result in full enforcement of this section, including enforcement of parental responsibility and of applicable penalties.
(G) Violations.
(1) If, after the warning notice pursuant to division (F)(3)(d) above of a first violation by a juvenile, the juvenile commits a second violation under the terms of division (D)(1) above and the parent or responsible person violates division (D)(2)(a) above is guilty of a separate offense for each day, or part of a day, during which the violation is committed, continued or permitted. Each offense, upon conviction, is punishable by the maximum line authorized by law. The court may require community service work in lieu of a line if the product of multiplying the number of hours of community service work by the prevailing wage does not result in a number which exceeds the maximum line authorized by law.
(2) The Municipal Court’s jurisdiction over a juvenile who violates division (D)(1) above shall be expressly subject to 10A O.S. §§ 2-2-101 et seq.
(H) Interlocal agreement. Absent an interlocal agreement with the District Court for the Municipal Court to exercise jurisdiction over juveniles under 17 years of age under division (C) above pursuant to 10A O.S. §§ 2-2-101 et seq., the Municipal Court must refer all alleged juvenile violations to the Juvenile Bureau of the District Attorney’s office.
(Ord. 2013-4, passed 5-13-2013) Penalty, see § 130.99