Juvenile Curfew Ordinance Sumter County, South Carolina

Juvenile Curfew Ordinance Sumter County, South Carolina

Ord. No. AN ORDINANCE ESTABLISHING CURFEW HOURS FOR JUVENILES, CREATION OF OFFENSES FOR VIOLATION, ESTABLISHING PROCEDURES FOR ENFORCEMENT, AND PROVIDING PENALTIES FOR VIOLATION WHEREAS, the County Council for Sumter County, South Carolina, finds that juvenile crime increases proportionately with age between ten (10) years old and sixteen (16) years old, that an inordinate proportion of crimes are committed during the hours of darkness after 11:00 P.M. O'clock, and that a large proportion of murders, robberies, rapes, and aggravated assaults occur in public places, streets and highways; WHEREAS, juveniles under the age of seventeen (17) years lack maturity and life experience to deal with peer pressure that often causes juveniles to engage in activities that would jeopardize the safety of the juveniles and tends to promote juvenile crime and violence in Sumter County; WHEREAS, it is the goal of Sumter County to (1) reduce the number of juvenile crime victims, (2) reduce injury and accidents involving juveniles, (3) reduce the number of calls that police officers have to make in response to problems with juveniles in order to provide additional time for officers to respond to other problems, (4) provide additional options for dealing with gang problems, (5) reduce juvenile peer pressure to stay out late, and (6) assist parents in control of their juvenile children; WHEREAS, it is the purpose of this ordinance to protect juveniles from harm and to reduce juvenile crime and violence occurring in Sumter County; WHEREAS, the aim of this ordinance is to deter criminal conduct involving juveniles as well as to penalize those adult individuals who encourage or permit activities by juveniles not in their best interest; WHEREAS, it is not the intent of Sumter County to penalize every juvenile found in public during curfew hours, but to use the ordinance as a tool to better address other criminal activity problems that may potentially involve juveniles and to assist parents in maintaining control of their juvenile children by availing themselves of counseling and parenting classes; WHEREAS, the enactment of this ordinance would empower law enforcement officers with reasonable suspicion to approach individual youths or groups of youths to determine if any of them are juveniles and will greatly enhance the Community Oriented Police (COP) Program by giving law enforcement officers means to identify and address problems related to juveniles in an officer s assigned community; WHEREAS, County Council has determined that the enactment of this ordinance will promote the purposes set forth hereinabove and promote the goals of the County

concerning juveniles set forth hereinabove and, in doing, so will promote the general health, safety and welfare of all of the citizens of Sumter County; and WHEREAS, the County Council has found that the benefits of the restrictions imposed by this ordinance on juveniles are far outweighed by the compelling interests sought to be addressed by this ordinance, that of protecting juveniles and prevention of crimes by juveniles. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED by the County Council for Sumter County, South Carolina, in council duly assembled: 1. That the Code of Ordinances for Sumter County, South Carolina is hereby amended by adding the following section thereto: Section CURFEW HOURS FOR MINORS. (a) Definitions. In this section: (1) CURFEW HOURS means: (A) 11:00 p.m. on any Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday until 6:00 a.m. of the following day; and (B) 12:01 a.m. until 6:00 a.m. on any Saturday or Sunday. (2) EMERGENCY means an unforeseen combination of circumstances or the resulting state that calls for immediate action. The term emergency includes, but is not limited to, a fire, a natural disaster, an automobile accident, or any situation requiring immediate action to prevent serious bodily injury or loss of life. (3) ESTABLISHMENT means any privately owned place of business operated for a profit to which the public is invited, including, but not limited to, any store, bar, restaurant, laundry, car wash, bank facility, and place of amusement or entertainment inclusive of the grounds thereof. (4) GUARDIAN means: (A) a person who, under court order, is the guardian of the person of a juvenile; or (B) an employee, officer, or official of a public or private agency with whom a juvenile has been placed by a court of competent jurisdiction. (5) LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER means the Sheriff of Sumter County, any lawful deputy of the said Sheriff, and any other person with power of arrest in the unincorporated areas of Sumter County. (6) JUVENILE means any person under 17 years of age. (7) OPERATOR means any individual, firm, association, partnership, or corporation operating, managing, or conducting any establishment, inclusive of employees of such

establishment. The term operator includes, but is not limited to, the members or partners of an association or partnership and the officers and shareholders of a corporation. (8) PARENT or GUARDIAN means a person who is: (A) a natural parent, adoptive parent, or step-parent of a juvenile; or (B) at least 18 years of age and authorized by a parent or guardian, a court of law or appropriate governmental agency to have the care and custody of a juvenile. (9) PUBLIC PLACE means any place to which the public or a substantial group of the public has access and includes, but is not limited to, streets, highways, and the common areas of schools, hospitals, apartment houses, office buildings, recreation facilities, transport facilities, and shops. (10) REMAIN means to: (A) linger or stay; or (B) fail to leave premises when requested to do so by a police officer or the owner, operator, or other person in control of the premises. (11) SERIOUS BODILY INJURY means bodily injury that creates a substantial risk of death or that causes death, serious permanent disfigurement, or protracted loss or impairments of the function or any bodily member or organ. (b) Offenses. (1) A juvenile commits an offense if the juvenile remains in any public place or on the premises of any establishment within any of the unincorporated areas of Sumter County during curfew hours. (2) A parent or guardian of a juvenile commits an offense if such parent or guardian knowingly permits or by insufficient control allows a juvenile to remain in any public place or on the premises of any establishment within any of the unincorporated areas of Sumter County during curfew hours. (3) The owner, operator, or any employee of an establishment commits an offense if such person knowingly allows a juvenile to remain upon the premises of the establishment during curfew hours. (c) Defenses. (1) It is a defense to prosecution under subsection (b) of this section that the juvenile was: (A) accompanied by the juvenile's parent or guardian; (B) on an errand at the direction of the juvenile's parent or guardian without any detour or stop; (C) in a motor vehicle involved in interstate or intercounty travel;

(D) engaged in an employment activity, or going to or returning home from an employment activity, without any detour or stop; (E) involved in an emergency; (F) on the sidewalk or road shoulder abutting the juvenile's residence or abutting the residence of a next-door neighbor if the neighbor did not complain to the police department about the juvenile's presence; (G) attending an official school, religious, or other recreational activity supervised by a person over the age of eighteen (18) years and sponsored by the Sumter County, a civic organization, or another similar entity that takes responsibility for the juvenile, or going to or returning home from, without any detour or stop, an official school, religious, or other recreational activity supervised by adults and sponsored by Sumter County, a duly organized civic organization, church, or another similar entity that takes responsibility for the juvenile; (H) exercising First Amendment rights protected by the United States Constitution, such as the free exercise or religion, freedom of speech, and the right of assembly; or (I) married or had been married or had disabilities of minority removed in accordance with applicable laws of the State of South Carolina. (2) In addition, it is a defense to prosecution under it subsection (b)(3) of this section that the owner, operator, or employee of an establishment promptly notified the Sumter County Sheriff's department that a juvenile was present on the premises of the establishment during curfew hours and refused to leave. (d) Enforcement. Before taking any enforcement action under this section, a law enforcement officer shall ask or attempt to ask the apparent offender's age and reason for being in a public place or establishment during curfew hours where practicable to do so. The law enforcement officer shall not issue a citation or make an arrest under this section unless the law enforcement officer reasonably believes that an offense has occurred and that, based on any response and other circumstances, no defense in Subsection (c) of this section is available to the offending juvenile. To the extent not inconsistent with the policies, procedures, rules, directives, and regulations of the agency employing a particular law enforcement officer, any law enforcement officer shall be authorized, but not required, to transport a juvenile in violation of this Section to that juvenile's residence or to the custody of the parent or guardian of such juvenile or, where necessary, to some appropriate governmental agency. No juvenile who willingly and truthfully cooperates with a law enforcement officer in returning or being returned to that juvenile's residence or the custody of a parent, guardian or proper governmental agency as the officer might reasonably direct shall be detained in any jail, correctional facility, or detention facility while awaiting trial or hearing for any violation under this section. (e) Penalties. (1) Any person who violates any provision of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.

(2) Each day or part of a day in which a violation of this section is committed, continued, or permitted shall constitute a separate offense. (3) Each juvenile in violation of any provision of this section shall constitute a separate offense. (4) Each offense under this section shall, upon conviction, be punishable by a fine not to exceed Five Hundred ($500.00) Dollars, a sentence of not more than thirty (30) days in jail, or both. (5) Provided, however, further, notwithstanding anything in this section to the contrary, no juvenile shall be subject to any penalty for a first offense under this section provided said juvenile ceases to be in violation under this section upon being directed to do so by a law enforcement officer. (f) Reports. No less frequently than annually, the County Administrator shall file a report with the governing body of Sumter County concerning enforcement activities made under the provisions of this section. In connection with such report, the Administrator shall solicit information and recommendations concerning this section from the Sheriff of Sumter County, the Director of the Sumter County Correctional Center, the Solicitor for the Third Judicial Circuit, the County Attorney for Sumter County, the Chief Magistrate for Sumter County, and the senior official in Sumter County of the South Carolina Department of Youth Services. The information and recommendations received by the County Administrator from such officials shall be attached to and made a part of the report of the County Administrator to the governing body. Any law enforcement officer taking action pursuant to any provision of this section shall file an incident report with regard thereto and a separate file or list of such incident reports shall be maintained by that officer's agency for use in enforcement, administration and evaluation of the provisions of this section. (g) Recommendations. The County Council for Sumter County makes the following recommendations for processing routine cases involving juveniles charged under the provisions of this section, the provisions of this subsection being precatory only and not mandatory, to-wit: (1) First Offense: Transportation of the juvenile to the residence of the juvenile, custody of a parent or guardian of juvenile, or the care of an appropriate governmental agency, whichever the involved law enforcement officer reasonably deems most appropriate.

(2) Second Offense: Those actions recommended for a first offense and, in addition, a petition will be filed with the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) for contract action or other appropriate action as deemed necessary by DJJ. (3) Third Offense: Those actions recommended for a first and second offense and, in addition, mandatory parenting classes, counseling classes, or both for appropriate action as may be deemed necessary by DJJ. (4) Fourth Offense: Those actions recommended for a first offense, a second offense, and a third offense to extent deemed necessary by DJJ and, in addition, a petition to be filed with DJJ for action by a Family Court Judge disposing of charges against the involved juvenile as the Family Court Judge deems appropriate. (5) If a juvenile twelve years of age or under is found to be in violation of this section, a copy of the written report required under this section will be forwarded to Sumter County Department of Social Services. (6) Petitions filed with the Family Court pursuant to the provisions of this section will be filed through and handled by the office of the Solicitor for the Third Judicial Circuit. 2. That this Ordinance shall take effect on January 1, 1996. THE COUNTY COUNCIL FOR SUMTER COUNTY, SOUTH CAROLINA (SEAL) BY: Charles E. Fienning ITS: Chairman ATTEST: Mary W. Lewis ITS: Clerk First Reading:, 1995. Second Reading:, 1995. Third Reading and Adoption:, 1995.