Among the items on the agenda for the Brownwood City Council meeting, slated for 9 a..m Tuesday, Nov. 9, is “consider an ordinance on second and third/final reading creating a juvenile curfew.”
At the last meeting of the Brownwood City Council on council on Oct. 26 members by a vote of 4-1 passed the first reading of an ordinance that would institute a juvenile curfew within Brownwood city limits for those ages 16 and under.
First introduced for discussion at the Oct.12 meeting by Ward 5 council member Walker Willey, the ordinance will be adapted from the City of San Angelo’s juvenile curfew, where Brownwood Police Chief Ed Kading worked in the past.
“I didn’t try and reinvent the wheel, I worked with a juvenile curfew for years in San Angelo,” Kading said. “Like we do with many things in our department, this is not about us punishing anybody. For me it’s truly a public safety matter about having children out that late at night. If nothing else can be done, enforcement is an option, but the main goal is to get children off the street and to whoever their parent or guardian is.”
Following a 20-minute discussion, Ward 2 council member Ed McMillian cast the lone ‘no’ vote.
“I’m against it. I just don’t think we have a juvenile problem that’s so severe that we have to put on a curfew,” McMillian said. “Since the last meeting, I’ve had a lot of comments in passing and calls from people that don’t want a curfew – not only people with children, but people that have no children. They just think it’s a government overreach.”
Brownwood Mayor Stephen Haynes also stated his opposition, but was not part of the vote.
“The problem I see with it is the fact that passing an ordinance that tells them they are criminally suspects because of their age, to me, undermines their confidence in government,” Haynes said. “Why am I being singled out merely because of my age? To me, not to use the word of day ‘government overreach,’ but it has that big brother-type concept.”
Willey presented the motion, which was seconded by Ward 3 council member Melody Nowowiejski.
“Being that 17 is an adult, 17 is not covered in this, it’s 16 and under,” Willey said. “The vast majority of driving individuals are going to be sophomores in high school and above, so they’re not going to be a target of this ordinance. This is not something that is going to be a probable cause for a traffic stop. For the vast majority of your high school type things it wouldn’t have an effect on that at all.”
Nowowiejski spoke of the safety component that is expected to come with a curfew.
“I can see it both ways, but the things that gets me is this an opportunity to get kids off the street and not become a victim,” Nowowiejski said. “Trafficking is a thing, here even, and these kids that are out those hours, nobody else is out at those hours except people that working. If they aren’t (working) they’re not up to any good either. These kids just don’t know any better.”
Ward 1 council member H.D. Jones asked Kading if the curfew would assist with the late night complaints coming from the Coggin Park area.
“I talked to several people that live around Coggin Park and they said they definitely have a problem,” Jones said.
Ward 4 council member Draco Miller said, “In this generation parents are more friends than they are parents, and I do see the significance of a lot underage teenagers being out. There’s nothing a 16, 15, 14-year-old should be doing after 12 o’clock, nothing good is going to come out of that anyway. So I am totally for this because of the rash of vandalism and other things go on.”
Kading added, “Should an ordinance be passed, I would have to come up with an internal tracking system so I can report the exact statistics on who we’re stopping, how old they are, race, time of day, what we did. Every interaction would be on body cam according to our current policy, and we would have to have a policy strictly for the juvenile curfew.”
The complete proposed ordinance is listed below:
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BROWNWOOD, TEXAS, ESTABLISHING POLICIES REGARDING JUVENILE CURFEW OFFENSES, TO BE CODIFIED IN THE CITY OF BROWNWOOD CODE OF ORDINANCES CHAPTER 42, ARTICLE III JUVENILE CURFEW; ESTABLISHING A PENALTY FOR VIOLATING THE ORDINANCE; PROVIDING A REPEALER CLAUSE; PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; PROVIDING AN OPEN MEETINGS CLAUSE; PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
WHEREAS, the City of Brownwood (the “City”) is a home-rule municipality created pursuant to Article XI, Section 5 of the Texas Constitution with powers of self-government, including the power to adopt and enforce ordinances necessary to preserve good government, order, and security to the City and its inhabitants as authorized by Texas Local Government Code Chapter 51 and Chapter 54; and
WHEREAS, the City Council finds that it is in the best interests of the health, safety and welfare of its citizens to adopt a juvenile curfew ordinance.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BROWNWOOD, TEXAS:
I. Enactment. That this ordinance and provisions contained herein regarding curfew ordinances shall be and are hereby adopted as the Juvenile Curfew Ordinance of the City of Brownwood and shall be codified in Chapter 42, Article III. Juvenile Curfew as follows:
“ARTICLE III. JUVENILE CURFEW
DIVISION 1. GENERALLY
Secs. 42-71.—42-80. Reserved
DIVISION 2. CURFEW
Sec. 42-81. Definitions
The following words, terms and phrases when used in this article shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, unless the context of their usage clearly indicates another meaning:
Emergency. An unforeseen combination of circumstances or the resulting state that calls for immediate action. The term includes, but is not limited to, a fire, a natural disaster, or automobile accident, or any situation requiring immediate action to prevent serious bodily injury or loss or life.
Establishment. Any privately owned place of business operated for a profit to which the public is invited, including but not limited to any place of amusement or entertainment.
Guardian.
(1) A person who, under court order, is the guardian of the person of a minor; or
(2) A public or private agency with whom a minor has been placed by a court.
Minor. Any person under 17 years of age.
Operator. Any individual, firm, association, partnership, or corporation, operating, managing, or conducting any establishment. The term includes the members or partners of an association or partnership and the officers of a corporation.
Parent. A person who is:
(1) A natural parent, adoptive parent, or stepparent of another person; or
(2) At least 18 years of age and authorized by a parent or guardian to have the care and custody of a minor.
Public place. 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, transport facilities, and shops.
Remain. To:
(1) Linger or stay; or
(2) Fail to leave premises when requested to do so by a peace officer or the owners, operator, or other person in control of the premises.
Serious bodily injury. Bodily injury that creates a substantial risk of death or that causes death, serious permanent disfigurement, or protracted loss or impairment of the function of any bodily member or organ.
Sec. 42-82. Offenses
(a) It shall be unlawful for any minor to knowingly remain, walk, run, stand, drive or ride about, in or upon any public place in the city between the hours of:
(1) 11:00 p.m. Sunday evening and 6:00 a.m. Monday morning;
(2) 11:00 p.m. Monday evening and 6:00 a.m. Tuesday morning;
(3) 11:00 p.m. Tuesday evening and 6:00 a.m. Wednesday morning;
(4) 11:00 p.m. Wednesday evening and 6:00 a.m. Thursday morning;
(5) 11:00 p.m. Thursday evening and 6:00 a.m. Friday morning;
(6) 12:01 a.m. Saturday morning and 6:00 a.m. Saturday morning; and
(7) 12:01 a.m. Sunday morning and 6:00 a.m. Sunday morning.
(b) A parent or guardian of a minor commits an offense if he knowingly permits, or by insufficient control allows, the minor to remain in any public place or on the premises of any establishment within the city during curfew hours.
(c) The owner, operator, or any employee of an establishment commits an offense if he knowingly allows a minor to remain upon the premises of the establishment during curfew hours.
Sec. 42-83. Defenses
(a) It is a defense to prosecution under section 42-82 that the minor was:
(1) Accompanied by the minor’s parent or guardian;
(2) On an errand at the direction of the minor’s parent or guardian, without any detour or stop;
(3) In a motor vehicle involved in interstate travel;
(4) Engaged in a employment activity, or going to or returning home from an employment activity, without any detour or stop;
(5) Involved in an emergency;
(6) On the sidewalk abutting the minor’s residence or abutting the residence of a next-door neighbor if the neighbor did not complain to the police department about the minor’s presence;
(7) Attending an official school, religious, or other recreational activity supervised by adults and sponsored by the city, a civic organization, or another similar entity that takes responsibility for the minor, 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 the city, a civic organization, or another similar entity that takes responsibility for the minor;
(8) Exercising First Amendment rights protected by the United States Constitution, such as the free exercise of religion, freedom of speech, and the right of assembly;
(9) Married or had been married or had disabilities of minority removed in accordance with chapter 31 of the Texas Family Code; or
(b) It is a defense to prosecution under section 42-82(c) that the owner, operator, or employee of an establishment promptly notified the police department or a peace officer, that a minor was present on the premises of the establishment during curfew hours and refused to leave.
Sec. 42-84. Enforcement
Before taking any enforcement action under this article, a peace officer shall ask the apparent offender’s age and reason for being in the public place. The officer shall not issue a citation or make an arrest under this article unless the officer reasonably believes that an offense has occurred and that, based on any response and other circumstances, no defense in section 42-83 is present.
Sec. 42-85. Children taken into custody for violation of juvenile curfew
As provided by state law:
(1) A peace officer taking a minor into custody for violation of this article shall, without unnecessary delay:
(A) Release the minor to the minor’s parent, guardian, or custodian;
(B) Take the minor before a municipal or justice court to answer the charge; or
(C) Take the minor to a place designated as a juvenile curfew processing office by the chief of police.
(2) The juvenile curfew processing office shall observe the following procedures:
(A) The office shall be an unlocked, multipurpose area that is not designated, set aside, or used as a secure detention area or part of a secure detention area;
(B) The minor will not be secured physically to a cuffing rail, chair, desk or stationary object;
(C) The minor will not be held longer than necessary to accomplish the purposes of identification, investigation, processing, release to parents, guardians, or custodians, and arrangement of transportation to school or court;
(D) A juvenile curfew processing office will not be designated or intended for residential purposes;
(E) The minor shall be under continuous visual supervision by a peace officer or other person during the time the minor is in the juvenile curfew processing office; and
(F) A minor will not be held in a juvenile curfew processing once for more than six hours.
Sec. 42-86. Penalty
(a) Any minor violating the provisions of this article shall be guilty of a class C misdemeanor as defined in the Texas Penal Code and shall be dealt with in accordance with the provisions of title 3 of the Texas Family Code.
(b) A parent or guardian of a minor violating this article shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, which shall be punishable by a fine of not less than fifty dollars ($50.00) nor more than two hundred dollars ($200.00).
Sec. 42-87. Review
Within three years of the date of adoption of this division, and every third year thereafter, the city council shall:
(1) Review the division’s effects on the community and on problems which the division was intended to remedy;
(2) Conduct public hearings on the need to continue the division; and
(3) Abolish, continue or modify the division.”
II. Repealer. The City Council of the City of Brownwood declares that any prior ordinance or any provision in any prior ordinance, as may be applicable, is hereby repealed to the extent that such ordinance or provision of an ordinance conflicts or contradicts the amendments and provisions enacted herein.
III. Severability. Should any section or part of this Ordinance be held unconstitutional, illegal, or invalid, or the application to any person or circumstances for any reasons thereof ineffective or inapplicable, such unconstitutionality, illegality, or ineffectiveness or such section or part shall in no way affect, impair or invalidate the remaining portion or portions thereof, but as to such remaining portion or portions, the same shall be an remain in full force and effect and to this end the provisions of this ordinance are declared to be severable.
IV. Notice. It is hereby officially found and determined that the meeting at which this Ordinance was adopted was open to the public as required and that public notice of the time, place and purpose of said meeting was given as required by the Open Meetings Act, Chapter 551. Gov’t. Code.
V. Effective Date. This Ordinance shall take effect and be in full force and effect from and after the date of its passage on the second and final reading and publication of the caption of the Ordinance in a newspaper of general circulation within the City, as may be required by law.