City curfews take no vacation just because school is out

ORIGINALLY WRITTEN CYNTHIA MARTENS
As school lockers close for the last time and the alarm clock loses its meaning, children and teens prepare to enjoy the lazy, hazy days of summer.

But freedom from school doesn’t give students freedom to be out all hours of the night. It’s time to remember that city curfews are in effect year-round.

Through city ordinances, cities in Marion County set curfew hours-specific times when certain activities, such as being out in the streets, are prohibited.

“Basically, that time of night, there’s nothing out there for those children to do,” said Dan Kinning, Hillsboro chief of police.

“And from our experience in the past, when they’re just wandering the streets, they’re getting into trouble. So (the curfew) is a way to keep them off the streets at night.”

Hillsboro

The city ordinance regarding curfew in Hillsboro reads as follows:

“It shall be unlawful for any minor under the age of 16 years to loiter, idle, wander, drive or ride over any streets or otherwise be in public places or vacant lots in the city between the hours of 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. of the following day.

“It shall be unlawful for any minor under the age of 18 years to loiter, wander, driver or ride over any streets or otherwise be in public places or vacant lots in the city between the hours of midnight and 5 a.m. of the following day.”

The ordinance qualifies that the above restrictions do not apply to a minor who is attending a scheduled school event, in the course of employment or attending a scheduled church event during a period of 30 minutes following the end of that event.

Violation is considered an unclassified violation for the purpose of imposing a penalty.

The incidences of curfew violations appear to be up some years and down others.

About five years ago, the Hillsboro Police Department encountered more problems with children violating curfew than in years past. At that time, the curfew was 11 p.m. for all minors.

“But then, we had 8- and 9-year-olds wandering the streets at 11 p.m., and we ended up changing it,” Kinning said.

“We had a real problem with it so we decided to crack down-change the ordinance and make it more restrictive. We also added an ordinance in there making parents responsible. Basically, they can be cited for allowing their children out past curfew.”

Enforcing city ordinances such as the curfew, police officials have the option of giving a warning or issuing a citation.

“Most of the time, when we have a violation, it’s just shortly after the deadline,” Kinning said. “The officer will tell them it’s past curfew, and it’s time to go home. And they usually always comply.”

Under certain circumstances, an officer may choose to issue a citation, and the juvenile is scheduled to appear in municipal court.

“Depending on the time of day, the type of activity they’re involved in and whether or not they’ve had warnings before or they’re a repeat offender-that all comes into issue” when considering a citation, Kinning said.

Municipal court is held at Hillsboro City Hall once a month, and curfew violations are tried there.

“We go through municipal court because there’s no state ordinance on curfew,” Kinning said. “It’s a city ordinance and not a state statute.”

In May, a group of about six juveniles were cited for violation of the curfew ordinance and appeared before Keith Collett, Hillsboro municipal court judge.

“One night-this was 2, 3, 4 o’clock in the morning-we cracked down because of recent vandalism,” Kinning said. “These are children well known to us. Some got fined $50 and some $75, and that includes $40 court costs.”

Marion

Passed in 2000, the Marion ordinance regarding the city curfew reads as follows:

“It shall be unlawful for any minor under the age of 18 years to loiter, idle, wander, stroll, play, drive or ride upon or over any of the streets, sidewalks, alleys, parks, public places, vacant lots or other public grounds in the city of Marion between the hours of midnight and 5 a.m. of the same day, except however when the minor is accompanied by his or her parent, guardian or legal custodian or when said minor has his or her written permission from his or her parent or guardian permitting the minor to be upon the streets or other places above specified after midnight on a day certain which must be specified in the writing.”

Violation of the ordinance is punishable up to a fine of $100 and court costs.

The midnight restriction is consistent with another section of the ordinance limiting hours at Central Park.

The park is closed and locked from midnight to 5 a.m. for persons of all ages.

Michel Soyez, Marion chief of police, said curfew violations are an infrequent occurrence in Marion.

“Most of them are warnings,” Soyez said. “If we see somebody out, we tell them they need to get home-it’s past curfew. And typically, as long as they comply, we allow them to do that. We try to give them the benefit of the doubt.

“But if we catch somebody doing something, such as criminal damage to property or there’s alcohol in the vehicle or some other circumstance, then typically we’ll go ahead and write the curfew (citation) as well. Basically, we reserve it for those who are getting in trouble.”

Soyez said the incidences of juveniles out past curfew increase during the summer months.

“We do deal with it more in the summertime. I don’t think parents are as strict about them being at home, because they don’t have to get up and go to school the next morning.”

Those cited in violation of the curfew appear in municipal court.

“Unless we’ve had reoccurring problems, the standing recommendation that I have to the judge is that they do community-service hours,” Soyez said.

“I don’t like a kid or his parents just being able to pay off and just forget about it. I think it means more when they’re doing community service. Community service is the best thing because if there were things damaged, then they’re paying back into the community that they were damaging the property in.”

Peabody

Under the Peabody ordinance, the curfew section reads as follows:

“It shall be unlawful for any person under the age if 18 years to be in, upon or about any public street, alley, sidewalk, public parking to or other outdoor areas open to general public access with the city after the hour of 11 p.m on Sunday through Thursday and before the hour of 5 a.m. the following day or after the hour of 12:30 a.m. on Friday or Saturday and before 5 a.m. the following day.”

The ordinance restriction does not apply to a minor under the following circumstances: when accompanied by a parent or guardian; when traveling by the most direct route from a place of employment or adult-supervised activity, such as church, school or an organized recreational activity; when traveling from a direct route outside the city to inside the city; or when traveling in a direct route during an emergency.

As in Hillsboro’s ordinance, parents are held accountable for their children violating the curfew as follows:

“It shall be unlawful for any parent, guardian or other person lawfully entitled to the care, custody or control of a person under the age of 18 to knowingly cause or permit such person to be in violation of this ordinance.”

It is unlawful for people of any age to be in the Peabody city park between the hours of 11 p.m. and 5 a.m., with certain exceptions specified in the ordinance.

Under normal circumstances, officers will make sure anyone violating curfew goes straight home, said Jeff Pohlman, Peabody chief of police.

Currently, curfew violations are not a problem in Peabody, Pohlman said.

“Now, if somebody’s driving the streets causing problems after hours, that’s going to be a problem,” he said. “The first time, we may say something to them; the second time, contact the parents; and the third time, they’ll be coming to (municipal) court.”

Pohlman said minors and parents should be aware the laws are in place for good reasons.

“No. 1, there’s not a whole lot good going on that a young teen or kid needs to be involved in after 11 p.m.,” Pohlman said.

“Normally, that time of night is when crimes happen. Criminals tend to come out more at night than they do during the day. So it’s also a safety issue. And it helps keep them out of trouble to make better decisions for themselves.

“You take towns like Peabody, Marion and Hillsboro, there’s not a lot for kids to do.

“So if they’re just running around our towns, probably but not always, something not good is going to happen.

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