Newark Youth Who Break Summer Curfew Can Be Fined Up To $1K: NPD
NEWARK, NJ — Newark’s long-running “Summer Juvenile Curfew” will return for 2018, authorities announced this week.
The Newark Department of Public Safety (NDPS) said that the curfew for local youth will kick off Friday, July 6 and continue through Labor Day on Monday, Sept. 3. During the curfew, unaccompanied minors ages 18 and below are not allowed to be more than 100 yards from their homes between the hours of 11 p.m. to 5:30 a.m.
The punishment? According to the NDPS:
“Any minor under 18 years of age found by a police officer to be in violation of this ordinance shall be brought to the nearest police station where the minor shall be released to his or her parent or guardian. The juvenile, along with the parent or guardian, will be issued a written warning that will be kept on file with the police division for a period of 6 months. A second infraction during that period will result in the arrest of the juvenile. If within 6 months from the second infraction the juvenile is found in violation of the ordinance, the juvenile and the parent or guardian will be summonsed to appear in court before a judge. Fines can range from $100 to $1,000.”
There are certain exceptions, authorities said:
“The provisions… shall not apply to any juvenile engaged in or traveling to or from a business or occupation which the laws of this state authorize a juvenile to perform or to a juvenile who is attending extracurricular school activities, activities sponsored by religious or community-based organizations and other cultural educational and social events that may occur after 11 p.m. and before 5:30 a.m.”
Newark police spokespeople said that the initiative has been established “to safeguard juveniles by ensuring that they remain under the supervision of a parent or guardian at night during the summer months.”
“While parents have the primary responsibility to provide for the safety and welfare of their children, the City of Newark is committed to preserving the safety of its children and preventing juvenile crime and victimization,” the NDPS stated in a news release announcing this year’s curfew.
Newark City Ordinance, 20:2-4.1 states:
“It shall be unlawful for any minor under the age of eighteen (18) to loiter, idle, wander, stroll or play in, or remain in or be upon the public streets, highways, roads, public places and public buildings, places of amusement and entertainment, public transportation facility, public vehicles used for transportation, vacant lots or other public places within the confines of the City or to be more than one hundred (100) yards from his or her place of residence between the hours of 11 p.m. and 5:30 a.m. of the following day. The provisions of this paragraph shall not apply to any minor accompanied by his or her parent, guardian or other adult person having care or custody of the minor, or where the minor is upon an emergency errand directed by his or her parent or guardian, or other adult person having care or custody of the minor. An emergency errand shall be an errand required to preserve the life of a person.”
Newark’s ordinance dates back to 1943, when World War II-era families commonly had unsupervised children due to the war. The city isn’t the only Essex County municipality to have youth curfew laws on the books. Other towns with youth curfew laws on the books include Cedar Grove, East Orange and Irvington.
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