HomeMy WebLinkAbout1997-06-09 97-260 ORDINANCECOUNCIL ACTION
Item No. 97-260
Date June 10, 1997
Item/Subject: Amending
Chapter VII,
Article
5 of the Laws and
Ordinances of the City
of Bangor --
Juvenile
Curfew Ordinance
Responsible Department:
Legal
This ordinance would repeal and replace Bangor's existing juvenile
Curfew. ordinance (Chapter VII, Article 5, Section 1, Bangor City
Ordinances) with a revised and updated ordinance based closely on
the Juvenile Curfew Ordinance currently in effect in Dallas,
Texas. A public hearing on the attached proposed ordinance has
been scheduled for Tuesday, June 17, 1997 at 5:00 p.m.
',q�II
Department • 1�
Manager's Comments
Associated Information: QAAW;*u
Finance Director
Clty So11C ltOi
Introduced For N�M�Gtl3FNEE5
Passage
First Reading
ar Referral 40 mu*LOfo Page 1 of 6
97-360 (As AmeMed)
SMSM= =
"tract to coanenor Soucy
CITY OF BANGOR
(TITLE.) mrbbhmmly. Amevding chapter vu, Article s see. I of We Laws and
Ordinances ofthe City ofBangor-Juvenile Curfew Ordluence
& B ordaiwd by Nr City CouxB of W Cty ofBanwr, ae/ailowc..
THAT Chapter VII, Article 5, Sec. 1, of the Laws and Ordinances of the City of
_. Bragor, as presently in force, is hereby repealed and replaced in its entirety by the
revised Chapter VII, Article 5, Sec. 1, attached hereto.
9]-360
Awpredto Camsufior Soucy June 9, 1997
CITY OF BANGOR
(TITLE.) MrbhMneey Inaing Chapter V11, Article 5 of the Laws
and ordinances of the City of Bangor -- Juvenile Curfew Ordinance
sea wda 6y W Cs Cmwa of a aty nfBunw. as fe v;
THAT Chapter VII, Article 5 of the Laws and Ordinances of the City
of Bangor, as presently in force, is hereby repealed and replaced
in its entirety by the revised Chapter VII, Article 5, attached
hereto.
IN CITY COUNCIL
June 9, 1997
First Reading
Referred to Municipal
Operations Committee
LER
IN CITYCLE'%
June 23, 1997
Joshua ;ass, 615 Pearl Street,
expressed the opinion that this
ordinance
is not the e to
juvenile problems in Bangor.
Motion to Amend by Substitution
Passed Passed As Amended by
Substitution Vote: byes, 2 n
I absent Councilors voting yes.
Aube. Baldacci, Blanchette, Soucy,
Tyler 6 Woodcock
Councilors voting no: Farnham 6
Sullivan Councilor absent: Leen
97-260
ORDINANCE
( TITLE,) amending Chapter VI1. Article 5 of
the Laws and Ordinances of the City of Bangor -
Juvenile Curfew Ordinance
9]-260
CHAPTER VII
ARTICLE 5 - INJURIOUS PRACTICES
Curfew Hours for Minors.
1.1 Legislative eindinas.
(a) In recent years, the City of Bangor has
experienced large and growing seasonal influxes of
accompanied minors from other communities, due in
large part to the presence in Bangor of public and
private agencies that provide shelter facilities and
other supportive services for such minors;
(b) During the calendar year ending December 31,
1996, the City of Bangor experienced a
assaults, disturbances of the peace, Incidents of
in
of
disorderly conduct, and other crimes and violations
"committed by minors. A large percentage of these
crimes and violations have been committed by
unaccompanied minors during late night and early
morning hours;
(c) During the same period, reported incidents of
victimization of minors by other minors and by adults
has increased;
(d) Unaccompanied minors, and especially those Under
the age of seventeen, are particularly susceptible by
reason of their lack of maturity and experience to
participate in personally harmful and unlawful
activities, and to be victims of older perpetrators
of crime; and
(e) A curfew ordinance for persons under the age of
seventeen is necessary for the protection of the
general public; to reduce the incidence of crimes,
violations, and victimisation of minors, and to
promote public health, safety and welfare.
1.2 Definitions, In this section:
(1) "Curfew hours" means:
(A) 11:00 p.m. on any Sunday, Monday,
Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday until 6:00 a.m.
of the following day; and
(3) 12:01 a.m. until 6:00 a.m. on any
Saturday or Sunday.
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(2) "Emergency" means an unforeseen combination of
circumstances or the resulting state that calls for
mediate action. The term includes, but is not
limited to, a fire, a natural disaster, an automobile
accident, or any situation requiring immediate action
to prevent serious bodily injury or loss of life.
(3) "Establishment" means any privately -owned place
of business operated for a profit to which the public
is invited, including but not limited to, any place
of amusement or entertainment.
(6) "Guardian" means:
(A) a person who, under court order, is the
guardian of the person of a minor; or
(B) a public or private agency with whom a
minor has been placed by a court.
(C) a person or public or private agency that
harbors or provides shelter to an unaccompanied
minor.
(5) "Minor" means any person under 17 years of age.
(6) "Operator" means any individual, firm,
association, partnership, or corporation operating,
managing, or conducting any establishment. The term
includes the members or partners of an association or
partnership and the officers Of a corporation.
(7) "Parent" means a person who is.
(A) a natural parent, adoptive parent, or
stepparent of another person; or
(B) at least 18 years of age and authorized by
a parent or guardian to have the care and custody of
a minor.
(8) "Public place" means any place to which the
public has access and includes, but is not limited
to, streets, highways, and the common areas of
schools, hospitals, apartment houses, office
buildings, transport facilities, and shops.
(9) "Remain" means to:
(A) linger or Stay; or
(3) fail to leave premises when requested to do
o by a police officer or the owner, operator, or
other person in control of the premises.
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(10) "Serious bodily injury" means bodily injury
that creates a substantial risk of death or that
causes death, serious permanent disfigurement, or
protracted loss or impairment of the function of any
bodily member or organ.
(11) "Unaccompanied minor" means any person under 17
years of age who is not in the presence, or under the
direct supervision, of that person's parent or
court-appointed guardian.
1.3 Offend
(1) A minor commits anoffense if he o e
she remains
n any public place or on the premises of any
establishment within the City during curfew hours.
(2) A parent Or guardian of a minor commits an
offense if he or she knowingly permits, or by
insufficient control allows, the minor to remain in
any public place or on the premises of any
establishment within the City during curfew hours.
(3) The owner, operator, or any employee of an
establishment commits an offense if he or she
knowingly allows a minor to remain upon the premises
of the establishment during curfew hours.
1.4 Defenses.
(1) It is a defense to prosecution under subsection
1.3 that the minor was:
(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;
(P) on the sidewalk abutting the minor's
residence or abutting the residence of anext-door
neighbor if the neighbor did not complain to the
Police Department about the minor's presence;
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(G) attending an official school, religious, o
other recreational activity supervised by adults and
sponsored by the City of Bangor, 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, orother recreational
activity supervised by adults and sponsored by the
City of Bangor, a civic organization, or another
similar entity that takes responsibility for the
minor;
(B) engaging in organized activities for the
purpose of 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 similar rights under the
Maine Constitution; or
(1) legally emancipated by court order at the
time of the violation.
(2) It is a defense to prosecution under subsection
1.3(3) that the owner, operator, or employee of an
establishment promptly notified .the Bangor Police
Department that a m was present on the premises
of the establishment during curfew hours and refused
to leave.
1.5 Enforcement.
(1) Any City of Bangor police officer receiving a
complaint or observing an apparent violation of this
ordinance shall have authority to investigate and
issue appropriate summonses. An officer's
investigation may include temporary detention of an
apparent violator pursuant to and in accordance with
Title 17-A MRSA S 17, for the purpose of acertaining
and verifying the identity, age and current
address of the person being investigated.
(2) Before taking any enforcement action under this
section, a police officer shall ask the apparent
offender's age and reason for being in the public
place. The officer shall not issue a citation or
issue a summons under this section unless the officer
reasonably believes that an offense has occurred and
that, based on any response and other circumstances,
no defense in subsection 1.9 is present.
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(3) Police officers investigating a complaint or an
apparent violation of this ordinance are authorized
to contact the parent or guardian of any minor
under
investigation, for the purpose of verifying the
minor's identity, age and current residence address,
and for the purpose of returning the minor to the
custody of such parent or guardian.
1.6 Penalties.
A person who violates a provision of this ordinance
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 a fine not to exceed
$500.
1.9 Effective Date- Annual Review, Sunset Provision.
This ordinance shall take effect ten (10) days
following final passage by the Bangor City Council.
It shall remain in effect thereafter until December
31, 1997. On or before December 31, 1997, and
annually thereafter, the City Council shall review
and determine whether the conditions that caused this
ordinance to be adopted persist so as to require
extension or amendment of the ordinance. Unless
extended by the City Council, this ordinance shall be
deemed repealed as of January 1, 1998. Such repeal
shall not affect prosecutions of any violations of
this ordinance occurring prior to the repeal date.
1.8 Severability.
A finding by any court that provisions of this
ordinance are unenforceable or void shall not operate
as a bar to enforcement of the remaining provisions
of this ordinance.