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HomeMy WebLinkAboutJuvenile curfew ordinancef Prepared by Eric Goers Asst City Attorney 410 E Washington Street Iowa City IA 52240 3193565030 ORDINANCE N0 nA47h ORDINANCE AMENDING TITLE 8 POLICE REGULATIONS CHAPTER 6 PERSONS UNDER EIGHTEEN YEARS OF AGE TO ADD A NEW SECTION 2 JUVENILE CURFEW TO ADD A NEW JUVENILE CURFEW ORDINANCE WHEREAS the City has determined that there has been an increase in juvenile violence juvenile gang activity and crime by persons under the age of eighteen 18 resulting in juveniles being involved in a wide range of unacceptable behavior including vandalism breach of the peace assaults and intimidation of residents WHEREAS persons under the age of eighteen 18 are particularly susceptible by their lack of maturity and experience to participate in unlawful and gangrelated activities and to be victims of older perpetrators of crime and WHEREAS the City has found that there has been a significant breakdown in the supervision and guidance normally provided by parents and guardians for juveniles resulting in an increase in the crimes and other unacceptable behavior cited above and WHEREAS the City has an interest in providing for the protection of minors from each other and from other persons for the enforcement of parental control over and responsibility for children for the protection of the general public and for the reduction of the incidence of juvenile criminal activities and WHEREAS the offensive activities of juveniles are not easily controlled by existing laws and ordinances and WHEREAS a curfew for those under the age of eighteen 18 will be in the interest of the public health safety and general welfare and will help to attain the foregoing objectives and to diminish the undesirable impact of such conduct on the citizens of Iowa City and will promote the public good safety and welfare and WHEREAS parental responsibility for the whereabouts of children is the accepted norm and legal sanctions to enforce such responsibility have had demonstrated effectiveness in many cities the City has determined that a curfew ordinance will increase the responsibility of parents and guardians for juveniles within their control and decrease juvenile delinquency and WHEREAS the City wishes to ensure that children out in public for legitimate reasons including the exercise of certain fundamental rights will not be subjected to a penalty and WHEREAS it is in the best interest of the City to adopt this ordinance NOW THEREFORE BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF IOWA CITY IOWA SECTION I AMENDMENTS 862 JUVENILE CURFEW A Definitions For use in this section the following terms are defined 1 Emergency errand means but is not limited to an errand relating to a fire a natural disaster an automobile accident or any other situation requiring immediate action to prevent serious illness bodily injury or loss of life 2 Knowingly means knowledge which a responsible adult should reasonably be expected to have concerning the whereabouts of a minor in that responsible adultscustody This is an objective standard It shall therefore be no defense that an adult responsible for a minor was completely indifferent to the activities or conduct or whereabouts of the minor 3 Minor means any unemancipated person under the age of eighteen 18 years 4 Nonsecured custody means custody in an unlocked multipurpose area such as a lobby office or interrogation room which is not designed set aside or used as a secure detention area and the person arrested is not physically secured during the period of custody in the area the person is physically accompanied by a peace officer or a person employed by the facility where the person arrested is being held and the use of the area is limited to providing nonsecured custody only while awaiting transfer to an appropriate juvenile facility or to court for contacting of and release to the persons parents or other responsible adult or for other administrative purposes but not for longer than six 6 hours without the oral or written order of a judge or magistrate authorizing the detention Ordinance No 094376 Page 2 5 Public place includes stores parking lots parks playgrounds streets alleys and sidewalks dedicated to public use and also includes such parts of buildings and other premises whether publicly or privately owned which are used by the general public or to which the general public is invited commercially for a fee or otherwise or in or on which the general public is permitted without specific invitation or to which the general public has access For purposes of this section a vehicle or other conveyance is considered to be a public place when in the areas defined above 6 Responsible adult means a parent guardian or other adult specifically authorized by law or authorized by a parent or guardian to have custody or control of a minor 7 Unemancipated means unmarried andor still under the custody or control of a responsible adult Emancipated is as defined in Iowa Code Section 252164 as amended B Curfew Established A curfew applicable to minors is established and shall be enforced as follows 1 Unless accompanied by a responsible adult no minor thirteen 13 years of age or younger shall be in any public place between the hours of 1000 pmand 500am 2 Unless accompanied by a responsible adult no minor fourteen 14 years of age through fifteen 15 years of age shall be in any public place between the hours of 1100 pmand 500 am 3 Unless accompanied by a responsible adult no minor sixteen 16 years of age through seventeen 17 years of age shall be in any public place between the hours of 1200 am midnight to 500am C Exceptions The following are exceptions to the curfew 1 The minor is accompanied by a responsible adult 2 The minor is on the sidewalk or property where the minor resides or on either side of the place where the minor resides and the adult responsible for the minor has given permission for the minor to be there 3 The minor is present at or is traveling between home and one of the following a Minors place of employment in a business trade or occupation in which the minor is permitted bylaw to be engaged or if traveling within one hour before or one hour after the work shift b Minorsplace of religious activity or if traveling within one hour before or one hour after the religious activity c Governmental or political activity or if traveling within one hour before or one hour after the activity d School activity or if traveling within one hour before or one hour after the activity e Assembly such as a march protest demonstration sitin or meeting of an association for the advancement of economic political religious or cultural matters or for any other activity protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution guarantees of free exercise of religion freedom of speech freedom of assembly or if traveling within one hour before or one hour after the activity 4 The minor is on an emergency errand for a responsible adult 5 The minor is engaged in interstate travel through the City beginning ending or passing through the City when such travel is by direct route 6 The minorsbusiness trade or occupation in which the minor is permitted by law to be engaged requires the presence of the minor in the public place Ordinance No 094376 Page 3 D Parental Responsibility It shall be unlawful for a parent or guardian having legal custody of a minor knowingly to permit or by ineffective control to allow the minor to be in violation of this Section This requirement is intended to hold a neglectful or careless parent or guardian up to a reasonable community standard of parental responsibility through an objective test It shall therefore be no defense that a parent or guardian was completely indifferent to the activities or conduct or whereabouts of such minor E Enforcement Procedures 1 Determination of Age In determining the age of the juvenile and in the absence of convincing evidence such as a birth certificate or driverslicense a peace officer on the street shall in the first instance use his or her best judgment in determining age 2 Grounds for Taking into Custody Conditions of Custody Grounds for taking a minor into custody for a curfew violation are that the person refuses to sign the citation without qualification persists in violating the ordinance refuses to provide proper identification or to identify himself or herself or constitutes an immediate threat to the personsown safety or to the safety of the public A law enforcement officer who takes a minor into custody for a curfew violation may keep the minor in custody either in a shelter care facility or in any nonsecured setting The officer shall not place bodily restraints such as handcuffs on the minor unless the minor physically resists or threatens physical violence when being taken into or while in custody or presents a risk of injury to the minor or others A minor shall not be placed in detention for a curfew violation 3 Notification of Responsible Adult After a minor is taken into custody the law enforcement officer shall notify the adult responsible for the minor as soon as possible The minor shall be released to the adult responsible for the minor upon the promise of such person to produce the child in court at such time as the court may direct 4 Minor Without Adult Supervision If a peace officer determines that a minor does not have adult supervision because the peace officer cannot locate the minors parent guardian or other person legally responsible for the care of the minor within a reasonable time the peace officer shall attempt to place the minor with an adult relative of the minor an adult person who cares for the child or another adult person who is known to the child In the event no such person can be promptly located the peace officer shall place the minor in shelter as specified in Iowa Code Section 23220and 23221 F A violation of this section shall be a simple misdemeanor punishable by a fine not in excess of fifty dollars 5000 G Annual City Council Review The City Council shall be provided with and review enforcement data including demographic frequency and location data associated with all citations issued under this ordinance on an annual basis SECTION II REPEALER All ordinances and parts of ordinances in conflict with the provision of this Ordinance are hereby repealed SECTION III SEVERABILITY If any section provision or part of the Ordinance shall be adjudged to be invalid or unconstitutional such adjudication shall not affect the validity of the Ordinance as a whole or any section provision or part thereof not adjudged invalid or unconstitutional SECTION IV EFFECTIVE DATE This Ordinance shall be effective upon publication December 2009 Ordinance No 094376 Page 4 It was moved by ODonnell and seconded by Champion that the Ordinance as read be adopted and upon roll call there were AYES NAYS ABSENT x Bailey Champion Correia g Hayek X ODonnell Wilburn x Wright First Consideration 9 15 2009 Vote for passage AYES ODonnell Wright Wilburn ABSENT None Second Consideration 12 1 2009 Vote for passage AYES Wright Champion Wilburn ABSENT None Date published 12232009 Champion Hayek NAYS Correia Bailey Hayek ODonnell NAYS BaileyCorreia