SEC. 5-131.1. FINDINGS:
The City Council finds and declares that there has been an increase in juvenile violence, juvenile gang activity, and crime by persons under the age of eighteen (18) in the City of Stockton. The City Council finds that persons under the age of eighteen (18) are particularly susceptible by their lack of maturity and experience to participate in unlawful and gang-related activities and to be victims of older perpetrators of crime. The City Council finds that the City of Stockton has an obligation to provide for the protection of minors from each other and from other persons, for the enforcement of parental control over and responsibility for children, for the protection of the general public, and for the reduction of the incidence of juvenile criminal activities, both at night and during the day. Very often the criminal activity the juveniles engage in occurs at a time when, pursuant to state law, they are required to be in school. The utmost compelling interest exists to ensure that all children are educated and prepared to be productive members of society.
The City Council further finds that a curfew for those under the age of eighteen (18) will be in the interest of the public health, safety, and general welfare and will help to attain the foregoing compelling objectives and to diminish the undesirable impact of such conduct on the citizens of the City of Stockton. It is the intent of the City Council to enact a curfew that is narrowly tailored to address the aforestated compelling interest of the City of Stockton with minimal burden upon the constitutional rights of minors.
(Amended by Ordinance 010-00 C.S. – Effective May 18, 2000) (Amended by Ordinance 016-95 C.S. — Effective July 24, 1995)
SEC. 5-131.1.1. DEFINITIONS:
Whenever herein the following terms are used, they shall have the meaning ascribed to them in this Section, unless otherwise apparent by the context:
1. "Adult" means any person at least eighteen (18) years of age.
2. "Amusement Activity" means an official school, religious, or other organized recreational activity supervised by adults. This term includes, but is not limited to, dances, plays, motion pictures, and sporting events.
3. "Curfew Hours" means after the hour of 11:00 p.m. until 6:00 a.m. on the following day; and, for those juveniles who are subject to the compulsory education laws of the state, including continuing education, during those hours during the day when school is actually in session.
4. "Emergency" means 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, an automobile accident, or any situation requiring immediate action to prevent serious bodily injury or loss of life.
5 "Establishment" means 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.
6. "Guardian" means:
(a) a person who, under court order, is the guardian of the person of a minor; or
(b) a public or private agency or person with whom a minor has been placed by a court.
7. "Legitimate Activity" means:
(a) accompanied by the minor's parent or guardian; or
(b) on an errand at the direction of the minor's parent or guardian; or
(c) in a motor vehicle involved in interstate travel; or
(d) engaged in an employment activity; or
(e) exercising First Amendment rights protected by the United States Constitution, such as free exercise of religion, and freedom of speech; or
(f) involved in an emergency; or
(g) on a sidewalk or area 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; or
(h) engaged in a school sponsored activity.
8. "Minor" means any person under eighteen (18) years of age, but shall not include a person who is married or had been married, or who had been emancipated in accordance with Part 6 of Division 10 of the California Family Code.
9. "Operator" means 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 and employees of a corporation.
10. "Parent" means a person who is:
(a) a natural parent, adoptive parent, or step-parent of another person; or
(b) at least eighteen (18) years of age and authorized by a parent or guardian to have care and custody of a minor.
11. "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, parks, and the common areas of schools, except when school is not in session, hospitals, apartment houses, office buildings, transport facilities, and shops.
12. "Remain" means to:
(a) linger or stay; or
(b) fail to leave premises or an establishment when requested to do so by a peace officer or the owner, operator, or other person in control of the premises or establishment.
13. "Serious Bodily Injury" means 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.
(Amended by Ordinance 010-00 C.S. – Effective May 18, 2000) (Added by Ordinance 016-95 C.S. — Effective July 24, 1995)
SEC. 5-131.1.2. PERSONS UNDER 18 YEARS OF AGE, RESTRICTED — EXCEPTIONS:
It shall be unlawful and a misdemeanor for any minor under the age of eighteen (18) years to remain in or upon any public street, sidewalk, park or other public place within the City of Stockton during curfew hours, as defined above, unless such minor is accompanied by a parent, guardian or other adult person having the care, control or custody of said minor. This Section shall not apply to such minor actively proceeding to or from any establishment, amusement activity, worship, or legitimate activity, or participating in any amusement activity, worship, or other legitimate activity, as defined above. (Amended by Ordinance 010-00 C.S. – Effective May 18, 2000) (Added by Ordinance 016-95 C.S. — Effective July 24, 1995)
SEC. 5-131.1.3 ENFORCEMENT:
Before taking any enforcement action under this Division, 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 or other detention under this Division unless the officer reasonably believes that an offense has occurred and that, based upon any response and other circumstances, no exception to the applicability of this Division is present. (Amended by Ordinance 010-00 C.S. – Effective May 18, 2000) (Added by Ordinance 016-95 C.S. — Effective July 24, 1995)
SEC. 5-131.2. CUSTODIAL RESPONSIBILITY:
It is unlawful and a misdemeanor for any parent or guardian having the legal care or custody of a minor under the age of 18 years to knowingly allow or permit the minor to violate the provisions of Division 19 of this Chapter.
(Amended by Ordinance 006-96C.S. — Effective March 27, 1996) (Amended by Ordinance 016-95 C.S. — Effective July 24, 1995) (Amended by Ordinance 71C.S. - Effective April 17, 1958)
SEC. 5-131.2.1. ENFORCEMENT ALTERNATIVE — ADMINISTRATIVE ADJUDICATION:
As an alternative to issuance of a criminal citation for a violation of Section 5-131.2, enforcement of the violation may proceed in accordance with the provisions of Sections 1-040 through 1-048 of Part VII of Chapter 1 of the Stockton Municipal Code.
(Added by Ordinance 016-95 C.S. — Effective July 24, 1995)
SECTION II. SEVERABILITY.
In the event any section or portion of this ordinance shall be determined invalid or unconstitutional, such section or portion shall be deemed severable and all other sections or portions hereof shall remain in full force and effect.
(Added by Ordinance 010-00 C.S. – Effective May 18, 2000)
Stockton, CA 
