CURFEW
[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the Town of Elsmere
1-11-1979 as Ord. No. 140; amended in its entirety at time of adoption of Code;
see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I. Subsequent amendments noted where
applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Disorderly conduct -- See Ch. 91.
Loitering -- See Ch. 135.
~ 87-1. Definitions.
For the purposes of
this chapter, the following words and phrases shall be defined as follows:
ESTABLISHMENT -- Any privately owned place of
business carried on for a profit or any place of amusement or entertainment to
which the public is invited.
MINOR -- Any person under the age of eighteen
(18) years.
OFFICIAL TOWN TIME -- Eastern Standard Time,
except from the first Sunday in April to the last Sunday in October, when it
means Eastern Daylight Saving Time.
OPERATOR -- Any individual, firm,
association, partnership or corporation, or other entity operating, managing or
conducting any establishment. When used in any clause prescribing a penalty, the
term "operator," as applied to an association or partnership, includes
the members or partners thereof and, as applied to a corporation, includes the
officers thereof.
PARENT -- Any natural or adoptive parent of a
minor, a guardian of a minor or any adult person who is responsible for the care
and custody of a minor.
PUBLIC PLACE -- Any public street, highway,
road, alley, park, playground, wharf, dock, public building or vacant lot.
REMAIN -- To loiter, idle, wander, stroll or
play in or upon.
~ 87-2. Curfew hours; exceptions.
A.
No minor shall remain in or upon any public place or any establishment
between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. of the following day, official
town time, except that on Fridays and Saturdays, the hours shall be from 12:00
midnight to 6:00 a.m.
B.
The provisions of this section shall not apply to any minor who is
accompanied by a parent, or to a minor who is upon an errand or other legitimate
business directed by such minor's parent or to any minor who is engaged in
gainful, lawful employment during the curfew hours.
C.
This section shall not apply when a minor is returning home by way of a
direct route from any activity that is sponsored by an educational, religious or
nonprofit organization when such returning is within sixty (60) minutes
following the termination of the activity.
~ 87-3. Unlawful conduct of parents.
A.
No parent shall knowingly permit any minor to remain in or upon any
public place or establishment between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. of
the following day, official town time, except that on Fridays and Saturdays, the
hours shall be from 12:00 midnight to 6:00 a.m.
B.
The provisions of this section shall not apply to any parent who
accompanies a minor, or to a parent who directs a minor upon an errand or other
legitimate business, or to any parent or a minor who is engaged in gainful,
lawful employment during the curfew hours.
~ 87-4. Unlawful conduct of operators of establishments.
No operator of an
establishment or the agents or employees of the operator shall knowingly permit
any minor, other than a minor who is an employee of the operator, to remain upon
the premises of such establishment between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.
of the following day, official town time, except that on Fridays and Saturdays,
the prescribed hours shall be from 12:00 midnight to 6:00 a.m.
~ 87-5. Violations; referrals; opportunity to explain conduct;
penalties.
A.
Any police officer who finds a minor violating any provisions of this
chapter shall obtain such information from such minor as to his name and
address, age and the name of his parent or parents. The minor shall thereupon be
instructed to proceed to his home forthwith. The information obtained from the
minor shall be forwarded to the State of Delaware division of protective
services or the family court for such action as is deemed appropriate in
accordance with the rules of the family court, and shall include a written
notice to be mailed by the Public Safety Department to the parents of the minor
advising of the violation of this chapter. The police officer may charge the
minor with a curfew violation, the prosecution of which shall be in the family
court, and may charge the minor's parent(s), or the operator(s), or both the
parent(s) and the operators, as the case may be, with violation(s) of the
provisions of this chapter, and the same shall be duly prosecuted in the court
of appropriate jurisdiction.
B.
Any parent who violates any provisions of this chapter after having
received notice of a prior violation shall be fined in an amount not to exceed
six hundred dollars ($600.) and costs for each violation, and in default of
payment thereof, shall be imprisonment for not more than ninety (90) days.
C.
Any operator of an establishment or any agent or employee thereof who
violates any provisions of this chapter shall be fined in an amount not to
exceed six hundred dollars ($600.) and costs for each violation and, in default
of payment thereof, shall be imprisonment for not more than ninety (90) days.
D.
Any violation of any provisions of this chapter shall constitute a
separate offense.
E.
No arrest of any minor, or parent, or operator shall be made for a
violation of this chapter unless the arresting officer first affords the person
an opportunity to explain his or her conduct, and no person shall be convicted
of a violation of this chapter if it is determined at trial that the explanation
so given was true and disclosed a lawful purpose.