Kids and teens will have to head home early this summer if a Jersey Shore town’s city council votes to impose a curfew that would bar anyone under 18 from being out unsupervised after 10 p.m.
Sea Isle City’s council could vote Tuesday to adopt an ordinance that would put the curfew in place between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., every day between May 15 and Sept. 15, according to the text of the proposed rule. Anyone under the age of 18 would not be allowed on any public street or place.
The exceptions would include minors who are with their parent or guardian, coming back from a summer job, participating in a recreation program or in an emergency situation.
It also makes it illegal for any business to allow juveniles on their premises during the curfew hours.
Children and teens who violate the curfew would be subject to two warnings before having a meeting with their parents or guardians to resolve the issue, but they would not be subject to any summonses or charges, the ordinance says. Parents who violate it by allowing or encouraging an underage person to remain in a public area would be faced with a series of escalating fines, it says.
According to the ordinance, it was created with the intention of “reducing juvenile violence and crime” and that the city has “an interest in strengthening parental responsibility for children.”