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From: Lieut. Dave Brown Date: July 10, 2007 Subject: Youth Protection Ordinance
With the hot summer months upon us, police have seen an increase in the amount of children aimlessly out and about during late night and early morning hours. Therefore, the Lynn Police Department would like to take this opportunity to remind parents and guardians, of the City of Lynn’s Youth Protection Ordinance. This ordinance restricts minors, any person under the age of 18, from public places, during the hours of midnight to 6 A.M. In addition, we would like to remind business owners and managers of their obligations as well. If any place of business to which the public is invited is found to have minors on the premises in violation of the ordinance, the owner or operator may be fined $300 per violation. However, owners or operators may protect themselves from prosecution if they promptly advise any violators to leave the establishment, and notify the police if they refuse to do so. The ordinance does allow for some exemptions, which include: if the child is in the company of their parents, at work or using a direct route to or from work, reacting or responding to an emergency, and others. For complete details please visit our web site at www.lynnpolice.org . The Youth Protection Ordinance is an invaluable tool which authorizes Lynn Police to take children into protective custody, during late night and early morning hours. The proactive enforcement efforts of our officers, has undoubtedly prevented many children from participating in, or becoming a victim of crime. When a child is found to be in violation, he or she is typically transported to the police station, and a parent or guardian is contacted. The interested adult is requested to respond to the station to take custody of their child, and encouraged not to allow a repeat offense. In the event that a child is on probation, officers will also inform juvenile probation of the circumstances. If a child is a repeat offender, and/or there are indications of neglect or abuse, the Department of Social Services may be asked to become involved. This ordinance was designed to protect the youth of our city. We ask that parents and guardians also utilize this as a tool, when deciding the appropriate curfew for children. Statistics provided by Lieutenant Peter Holey, the Commanding Officer of the early morning shift, revealed that 101 children were found to be in violation of the Youth Protection Ordinance, this year. The total was calculated from the period of January 1, 2007, through June 24, 2007. Violations by age reflected: 17 violations for children age 17, 32 violations for children age 16, 27 violations for children age 15, 17 violations for children age 14, 4 violations for children age 13 and 4 violations for children ages 10 to 12. A break down by gender discovered 56 females and 45 males in violation of the ordinance.
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