1351 ORDINANCE NO. 1351( #18 - 2008)
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING JMC §ff .08.030, 9.08.040 AND
9,08.090 AND CREATING 1MC § 9.08.1445 SO AS TO CRATE A
DAYIIMECURFEW, DECLARING AN EMERGENCY; AND, FOR OTHER
PURPOSES.
WHEREAS, recent arrests and criminal activity have increased, and the Police
Department has noticed an unusual and unacceptable number of school age youth
involvement in various criminal activity through these incidents. As a result of these
special circumstances and as a means of public safety, the Jacksonville Police Department
believes there is a basis for implementation of a daytime curfew in efforts to aid in crime
prevention, promotion of additional parental supervision, creation of additional authority
over minors, and for the benefit and protection of all citizens; and,
WHEREAS, the Jacksonville Police Department urges the City Council to enact a
daytime curfew for those parties under the age of Eighteen (18) so as to protect and
better provide for the safety and welfare of both our young people and all other citizens.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED B Y THE CI T Y CO U NCI L OF THE CITY
OF JACKSONVILLE, ARKANSAS, THAT ::
SECTION ONE: Jacksonville Municipal Code § 9.08.030 (Curfew for Juveniles)
shall be amended to read as follows:
(1) It shall be unlawful for any person under Eighteen (18) years of age to be or
remain in or upon the streets, public parks, playgrounds, vacant lots, or to ride and /or
drive in or upon, over, or through the public streets and /or public parks within the City of
Jacksonville at night during the period ending at 5:00 a.m. and beginning:
(a) 12:00 midnight on Friday and Saturday nights;
11:00 p.m. on Sunday nights; and,
(b) 10:00 p.m. on all other nights.
(2) It shall be unlawful for any person under Eighteen (18) years of age to be or
remain in or upon the streets, public parks, playgrounds, vacant lots, or to ride and /or
drive in or upon, over, or through the public streets and /or public parks within the City of
Jacksonville during the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. when the public schools are in
session.
SECTION TWO: Jacksonville Municipal Code § 9.08.040 (Exceptions) shall be
amended to read as follows:
(1) In the following situations, a minor on a city street during prohibited hours
prescribed above for minors shall not, however, be considered in violation of the terms of this
Curfew Ordinance:
(a) When accompanied by a parent of such minor; or,
(b) When accompanied by an adult, at least Twenty-one (21) years
of age, who is not the parent but who is authorized by the parent of
such minor to take said parent's place in accompanying the minor for a
designated period of time, for a designated purpose, and within a
specified area: or,
(c) When exercising First Amendment rights protected by the United
States Constitution, such as the free exercise of religion, freedom of
speech, and the right of such exercise by first delivering to the person
designated by the Chief of Police to receive such information at the
Police Department on Main Street, a written communication signed by
the juvenile and countersigned by a parent of the juvenile with their
Ordinance No. 1351 (#18 - 08)
Page Two
home address and telephone number. Said document shall specify
when, where, and in what manner the juvenile will be on the streets at
night (during hours when the Curfew Ordinance is otherwise applicable
to said minor) in the exercise of a First Amendment right; or,
(d) In case of reasonable necessity for a juvenile remaining on the
streets, but only after the juvenile's parent has communicated to the
person designated by the Chief of Police to receive such notifications
the facts establishing the reasonable necessity relating to specified
streets at a designated time for a described purpose, including points of
origin and destination. A copy of the communication, or of the police
record thereof, duly certified by the Chief of Police to be correct, with an
appropriate notation of the time it was received and of the names and
addresses of the parent(s) and juvenile(s), shall be admissible evidence;
or,
(e) When returning home from and within One (1) hour after
termination of a school or city sponsored activity or from an activity of a
religious or other voluntary association. Prior notice of said event,
indicating the place and probable time of termination, shall have been
given by the sponsor of said event to and duly filed for immediate
reference by the person designated by the Chief of Police on duty at the
police station. This act shall encourage, as in other exceptional
situations, responsible conduct on the part of juveniles involved in such
activities and shall strike a fair balance for any conflicting interests that
may exist; or,
(f) When engaging in the duties of bona fide employment or from
traveling directly, without undue delay or detour, to and from /from and
to home to the place of employment: or,
(g) When the minor is in a motor vehicle for the purpose of
interstate travel and /or commerce, either proceeding through,
beginning, or ending in Jacksonville; or,
(h) At any time the minor is on a parentally approved errand or
leaving his /her residence or school because of an emergency; or,
(i) If the hours of operation for his /her school are different from the
hours cited above, the time between the normal start time and normal
dismissal lime for students at the school where the minor is registered.
SECTION THREE: Jacksonville Municipal Code 9.08.045 (Defense from
School Hours Curfew Violations) shall be created and shall read as follows:
With respect to the hours between 8:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. on Monday through
Friday only, it is a defense that the public or private school which the minor attends is not
in session, that the minor is being home - schooled in accordance with Arkansas law and a
recess has been declared by the home - school teacher, that the minor is a high school
graduate or has an equivalent certification, or that the minor is on an excused absence
from his /her place of schooling. However, a disciplinary suspension or expulsion from
his /her school is not deemed an excused absence for purposes of this Code.
SECTION FOUR: Jacksonville Municipal Code 9.08.090 (Dates of
Operation) shall be amended to read as follows:
In order to allow implementation of administrative procedures and requirements of
this Ordinance by the Police Department, the first date and time of the Daytime Curfew
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Ordinance No. 1351 (#18 - 08)
Page Three
provisions cited above shall be Monday, the Third day of November, 2008, at 8:30 a.m. The
provisions of the Nocturnal Curfew, having been in effect since 1991, shall remain and
continue to be in effect, as amended, from enactment of this Ordinance.
SECTION FIVE: All Ordinances or parts thereof in conflict herewith are
hereby repealed to the extent of said conflict.
SECTION SIX:: This Ordinance, necessary for the improvement of
public facilities and the health, safety, and welfare of the citizens of Jacksonville, should
be implemented immediately. Therefore, an emergency is hereby declared, and this
Ordinance shall be in force and effect from and after its date of passage.
APPROVED AND ADOPTED THIS I to ' DAY OF OCTOBER, 2008.
�WM^v
MAYOR TOMMY SWAIM
ATTEST:
SUSAN DAV ' , CITY CL RK v
APPRS I S TO F• - u * ':. I., -
ROB •T E. BAM:W ATM!