Chapter 9.24
OFFENSES BY OR AGAINST MINORS
Sections:
9.24.020 Possession, control, or consumption by persons under twenty-one.
9.24.030 Possession of tobacco by persons under nineteen.
9.24.040 Abuse of, endangering.
9.24.050 Abuse—Reports to be kept confidential.
9.24.070 Selling or giving tobacco to.
9.24.080 Drunkenness, improper conduct, etc., in presence of.
9.24.010 Curfew for minors.
A. Purpose. The purpose of this section is to: (1) promote the general welfare and protect the general public through the reduction of juvenile violence and crime within the city; (2) promote the safety and well-being of the city’s youngest citizens, persons under the age of eighteen, whose inexperience renders them particularly vulnerable to becoming participants in unlawful activities, and to being victimized by older perpetrators of crime; and (3) foster and strengthen parental responsibility for children.
B. Definitions. As used within this section, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this subsection:
“Curfew hours” are as follows:
1. Sunday through Thursday beginning at eleven-one p.m. and ending at five a.m. the following morning; and
2. Beginning at twelve-one a.m. and ending at five a.m. on Saturday and Sunday morning.
3. June 1st through August 31st curfew hours shall begin at twelve-one a.m. and end at five a.m. every day of the week.
“Emergency” means unforeseen circumstances, or the status or conditions resulting therefrom, requiring immediate action to safeguard life, limb or property. The term includes, but is not limited to, fires, natural disasters, automobile accidents or other similar circumstances.
“Establishment” means any privately owned place of business within the city operated for a profit, to which the public is invited, including, but not limited to, any place of amusement or entertainment.
With respect to such establishment, the term “operator” shall mean any person, and any firm, association, partnership (and the members or partners thereof) and/or any corporation (and the officers thereof) conducting or managing that establishment.
“Minor” means any person under eighteen years of age who is not married and has not been emancipated pursuant to state law.
“Officer” means a police or other law enforcement officer charged with the duty of enforcing the laws of the state of Alaska and/or the ordinances of the city.
“Parent” means:
1. A person who is a minor’s biological or adoptive parent and who has legal custody of a minor (including either parent, if custody is shared under a court order or agreement);
2. A person who is the biological or adoptive parent with whom a minor regularly resides;
3. A person judicially appointed as a legal guardian of the minor; and/or
4. A person eighteen years of age or older standing in loco parentis (as indicated by the authorization of an individual listed in subsection(s) (1), (2) or (3) of this definition, for the person to assume the care or physical custody of the child, or as indicated by any other circumstances).
“Person” refers to an individual, not to any association, corporation, or any other legal entity.
“Public place” means any place to which the public or a substantial group of the public has access, including, but not limited to: streets, highways, roads, sidewalks, alleys, avenues, parks, private residences left open to the public without the presence of adult supervision, and/or the common areas of schools, hospitals, apartment houses, office buildings, transportation facilities and shops.
“Remain” refers to the following actions:
1. To linger or stay at or upon a place; and/or
2. To fail to leave a place when requested to do so by an officer or by the owner, operator or other person in control of that place.
“Special events” means and includes, but shall not be limited to, civic, religious and school events.
“Temporary care facility” means a nonlocked, nonrestrictive shelter at which minors may wait, under visual supervision, to be retrieved by a parent. No minor waiting in such facility shall be handcuffed and/or secured (by handcuffs or otherwise) to any stationary object.
C. Prohibitions.
1. It is unlawful for a minor, during curfew hours, to remain in or upon any public place within the city, to remain in any motor vehicle operating or parked therein or thereon, or to remain in or upon the premises of any establishment within the city, unless:
a. The minor is accompanied by a parent; or
b. The minor is involved in an emergency; or
c. The minor is engaged in an employment activity, or is going to or returning home from such activity, without detour or stop; or
d. The minor is on the sidewalk directly abutting a place where he or she resides with a parent; or
e. The minor is attending an activity sponsored by a school, religious, or civic organization, by a public organization or agency, or by another similar organization or entity, which activity is supervised by adults, and/or the minor is going to or returning from such an activity without detour or stop; or
f. The minor is on an errand at the direction of a parent, and the minor has in his or her possession writing signed by the parent containing the following information: the name, signature, address and telephone number of the parent authorizing the errand, the telephone number where the parent may be reached during the errand, the name of the minor, and a brief description of the errand, the minor’s destination(s) and the hours the minor is authorized to be engaged in the errand; or
g. The minor is involved in interstate or intrastate travel with the consent of the minor’s parent, and the minor has in his or her possession writing signed by the parent containing the following information: the name, signature, address and telephone number of the parent authorizing the travel, the telephone number where the parent may be reached during the travel, the name of the minor, and a brief description of the travel, the minor’s destination(s) and the hours the minor is authorized to be engaged in the travel; or
h. The minor is exercising First Amendment rights protected by the Alaska and United States Constitutions, such as the free exercise of religion, freedom of speech and the right of assembly.
2. It is unlawful for a minor’s parent to knowingly permit, allow or encourage such minor to violate this section.
3. It is unlawful for a person who is the owner or operator of any motor vehicle to knowingly permit, allow or encourage a violation of this section.
4. It is unlawful for the operator of any establishment, or for any person who is an employee thereof, to knowingly permit, allow or encourage a minor to remain upon the premises of the establishment during curfew hours. It shall be a defense to prosecution under this subsection that the operator or employee of an establishment promptly notified the police department that a minor was present at the establishment after curfew hours and refused to leave.
5. It is unlawful for any person (including any minor) to give a false name, address or telephone number to any officer investigating a possible violation of this section.
6. The police chief shall have the discretionary authority to extend the curfew for a specified period of time for special events if the sponsor of the event has requested the extension, in writing and giving reasons therefor, at least forty-eight hours before the event.
D. Enforcement.
1. Minors. Before taking any enforcement action hereunder, an officer shall make an immediate investigation for the purpose of ascertaining whether or not the presence of a minor in a public place, motor vehicle and/or establishment within the city during curfew hours is in violation of this section.
2. Other Violators. If an investigation by an officer reveals that a person, other than or in addition to a minor, has violated this section, appropriate enforcement action shall be taken.
3. Upon citation under this section, court appearance is mandatory. (Ord. 17-03 § 1 (part): Ord. 14-06 § 1 (part): Ord. 99-16 §§ 1—4; Ord. 99-08 § 1)
9.24.020 Possession, control, or consumption by persons under twenty-one.
A. AS 04.16.050 is hereby incorporated as if set forth fully herein.
B. Upon citation under this section, court appearance is mandatory. (Ord. 17-03 § 1 (part))
9.24.030 Possession of tobacco by persons under nineteen.
A. A person under nineteen years of age may not knowingly possess a cigarette, a cigar, tobacco, or a product containing tobacco in this state. This subsection does not apply to a person who is a prisoner at an adult correctional facility.
B. Upon citation for violation of this section court appearance is mandatory. (Ord. 17-03 § 1 (part))
9.24.040 Abuse of, endangering.
A. It is unlawful for any person to willfully cause or permit any child to suffer, or inflict thereon, unjustifiable physical pain or mental suffering, or, having the care or custody of any child, to cause or permit the life or limb of such child to be endangered, or the health of such child to be injured, or to willfully cause or permit such child to be placed in such situation that its life or limb may be endangered, or its health likely to be injured.
B. Upon citation under this section, court appearance is mandatory. (Ord. 17-03 § 1 (part): Ord. 14-06 § 1 (part): prior code § 17-12. Formerly 9.24.020)
9.24.050 Abuse—Reports to be kept confidential.
Any report made by a licensed physician to the police or public prosecutor of a suspected or actual instance of abuse to a minor as defined in Section 9.24.040 shall be confidential, and such report may not be inspected by or disclosed to any person except officers authorized to administer the criminal laws of the city or the state, or a law enforcement officer, or in response to a proper subpoena from a court. Any city employee who violates this section by disclosing or allowing inspection of such report to an unauthorized person shall be guilty of a violation of this chapter, and shall be subject to disciplinary proceedings in accordance with the city code and personnel regulations. (Ord. 17-03 § 1 (part): Ord. 14-06 § 1 (part): prior code § 17-13. Formerly 9.24.030)
9.24.060 Sale of firearms to.
A. It is unlawful for any person to give, barter, sell, lease or otherwise make available to any person under the age of eighteen years any firearm, including but not limited to pistols, rifles, and shotguns, within the city.
B. Upon citation under this section, court appearance is mandatory. (Ord. 17-03 § 1 (part): Ord. 14-06 § 1 (part): prior code § 17-14. Formerly 9.24.040)
9.24.070 Selling or giving tobacco to.
A. No person shall commit the offense of selling or giving tobacco to a minor as described in AS 11.76.100.
B. AS 11.76.100 is hereby incorporated as if set forth fully herein.
C. A person commits the offense of selling or giving tobacco to a minor if the person:
1. Negligently sells a cigarette, a cigar, tobacco, or a product containing tobacco to a person under nineteen years of age;
2. Is nineteen years of age or older and negligently exchanges or gives a cigarette, a cigar, tobacco, or a product containing tobacco to a person under nineteen years of age;
3. Maintains a vending machine that dispenses cigarettes, cigars, tobacco, or products containing tobacco, except as provided in AS 11.76.100 (b);
4. Holds a business license endorsement under AS 43.70.075 and allows a person under nineteen years of age to sell a cigarette, a cigar, tobacco, or a product containing tobacco.
D. Violation of this section is punishable by a three-hundred-dollar fine for a first violation, a four-hundred-dollar fine for a second violation, and a five-hundred-dollar fine for a third and each subsequent violation. (Ord. 17-03 § 1 (part): Ord. 14-06 § 1 (part): prior code § 17-15. Formerly 9.24.050)
9.24.080 Drunkenness, improper conduct, etc., in presence of.
A. It is unlawful for any person while caring for a child under ten years of age to:
1. Cause or allow the child to enter or remain in a dwelling or vehicle in which a controlled substance is stored in violation of AS 11.71; or
2. Be impaired by an intoxicant, whether or not prescribed for the person under AS 17.30 when there is no third person who is at least twelve years of age and not impaired by an intoxicant present to care for the child.
B. In this section:
1. “Impaired” means that a person is unconscious or a person is physically or mentally affected so that the person does not have the ability to care for the basic safety or personal needs of a child with the caution characteristic of a sober person of ordinary prudence;
2. “Intoxicant” has the meaning given in AS 47.10.990;
C. Upon citation under this section, court appearance is mandatory. (Ord. 17-03 § 1 (part): Ord. 14-06 § 1 (part): prior code § 17-16. Formerly 9.24.060)