Author Topic: Curfew Ordinance? (Read 8144 times)

Editor · « **on:** July 05, 2006, 09:39:41 AM »

Latest story:

Give Hackensack kids activities, not a curfew

A newly formed neighborhood watch group a few blocks southwest of the county courthouse is exploring a curfew as a tool to fix some of the quality-of-life problems invading the community...

The Rev. Brian Laffler is scheduled to take a delegation of neighborhood folks to talk to the police chief next week, and wants to have the City Council consider a curfew ordinance modeled after one adopted by Hasbrouck Heights.

Hasbrouck Height's Ordinance:

ARTICLE III Juvenile Curfew [Adopted 1-26-1993 by Ord. No. 1632]

§ 198-7. Prohibition.
A.   It shall be unlawful for any juvenile not having attained the age of 17 years to be on any public street or any public place having public access, including but not limited to public thoroughfares, sidewalks, bridges, alleys, plazas, parks, recreation or shopping areas, public transportation facilities, vehicles used for public transportation, parking lots or any other public buildings, structures or areas, between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. of any day, unless:
(1)   Such juvenile is accompanied by his or her parent, legal guardian or other person having attained the age of majority who is acting in the place of the parent or is responsible for the care and welfare of the juvenile; or unless
(2)   Such juvenile is engaged in or traveling to or from a business or occupation which the laws of the State of New Jersey authorize such juvenile to perform; or unless
(3)   Such juvenile is engaged in errands involving medical emergencies; or unless
(4)   Such juvenile is attending or in direct transit to or from extracurricular school activities, activities sponsored by religious or community-based organizations and other cultural, educational and social events.
B.   It shall be unlawful for any parent, legal guardian or other person who is acting in the place of a parent or is responsible for the care and welfare of the juvenile to allow a juvenile not having attained the age of 17 years to be on any street or in a public place as prohibited in Subsection A hereof.

§ 198-8. Violations and penalties.

Any person who violates any provisions of this Article, upon conviction, shall be required to perform community service for a period to be determined by the Judge not exceeding 90 days and may be subject to a fine up to $1,000 at the discretion of the Judge; if both a juvenile and the juvenile's parent, legal guardian or person caring for such juvenile as hereinbefore described are both convicted of a violation of this Article, they both shall be required to perform the aforesaid community service together.

Editor · « **Reply #1 on:** August 15, 2006, 10:11:37 AM »

Latest story: Residents' gripes prompt city to consider juvenile curfew

ericmartindale · « **Reply #2 on:** August 17, 2006, 10:28:21 AM »

I'm not sure if this fosters positive relations between police and juveniles. Some kids who are otherwise "good kids" will feel they are being harassed by police, and may develop a dislike of the police. Some may even conclude that it is "right" or "cool" to have an anti-law, anti-police attitude. That problem exists already, especially in central Hackensack. Will a curfew will make it worse?

I have some reservations about this being done for all of Hackensack, especially the western and northern parts of the city, and the area between Route 80 and the Little Ferry border.

It was the Lodi Street area that floated the idea in the first place. Maybe it should be tried in just the portion of the First Ward north of Route 80, and set it for 11 PM. Then see how it goes.

ericmartindale · « **Reply #3 on:** August 20, 2006, 08:59:06 AM »

Here’s a section of text from page A-11 of today’s Record, in an article about skateboard parks. It talks about kids’ self-image with respect to the law. It’s so close in sentiment to my last post that I want to share it with everyone. I agree that kids should be marginalized in their communities, or pushed into a renegade self-image due to a few encounters with cops for things that really aren't illegal. In the case of the article, it was skateboarding, in the case of Hackensack, it's walking down the sidewalk at 10:05 PM. The concept is the same.

Here’s some of the text, word-for-word, from the article:

LEGAL VS. OUTLAW. Many skateboard advocates are not only concerned about safety, but also the skateboarders’ self-image. The kids are getting used to breaking laws and routine scuffles with the cops, leading parents to worry that it could be the start of a renegade lifestyle. “I want them to have the status of being legal instead of outlaws”, said Jennifer Rothschild, a mother of two Closter skateboarders. “I don’t think it helps to have kids running away from the police when they’re 10, 11 years old”…..You essentially have a group of kids who have been marginalized in their communities.