Police Beat Q & A

This week’s question was inquiring if the Town of Churubusco had a curfew.

The Town does have a curfew and it is the same as the state law. Below is the law as it reads, and there are some exceptions that would allow the kids to be out after curfew. For those children/teens who get caught out after curfew and do not meet the requirements to be out late, the penalties range from calling the parents and having them pick their child, or as severe as the children/teens being cited into probation.

The best advise is the one I used to hear as a kid and that is, “There is nothing good that you are doing after curfew that you could not have done before curfew.” 

Thanks for the question.

Chad E. Fulkerson, Marshal

Churubusco Police Dept.  

31-37-3-2. Curfew for children 15, 16, or 17 years of age.

     (a)  It is a curfew violation for a child fifteen (15), sixteen (16), or
seventeen (17) years of age to be in a public place:
     (1)  between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. on Saturday or Sunday;
     (2)  after 11 p.m. on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday;
or
     (3)  before 5 a.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday.
     (b)  A law enforcement officer may not detain a child or take a child into
custody based on a violation of this section unless the law enforcement
officer, after making a reasonable determination and considering the facts and
surrounding circumstances, reasonably believes that:
     (1)  the child has violated this section; and
     (2)  there is no legal defense to the violation.

31-37-3-3. Curfew for children less than 15 years of age.

     (a)  It is a curfew violation for a child less than fifteen (15) years of age
to be in a public place after 11 p.m. or before 5 a.m. on any day.
     (b)  A law enforcement officer may not detain a child or take a child into
custody based on a violation of this section unless the law enforcement
officer, after making a reasonable determination and considering the facts and
surrounding circumstances, reasonably believes that:
     (1)  the child has violated this section; and
     (2)  there is no legal defense to the violation.

31-37-3-3.5. Defenses.

(a)  It is a defense to a violation under this chapter that the child was
emancipated:
     (1)  under IC 31-37-19-27 or IC 31-6-4-15.7 (before its repeal);
     (2)  by virtue of having married; or
     (3)  in accordance with the laws of another state or jurisdiction;
at the time that the child engaged in the prohibited conduct.
(b)  It is a defense to a violation under this chapter that the child engaged
in the prohibited conduct while:
     (1)  accompanied by the child’s parent, guardian, or custodian;
     (2)  accompanied by an adult specified by the child’s parent,
guardian, or custodian;
     (3)  participating in, going to, or returning from:
          (A)  lawful employment;
          (B)  a school sanctioned activity;
          (C)  a religious event;
          (D)  an emergency involving the protection of a person or
property from an imminent threat of serious bodily injury or substantial
damage;
          (E)  an activity involving the exercise of the child’s rights
protected under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution or
Article 1, Section 31 of the Constitution of the State of Indiana, or both,
such as freedom of speech and the right of assembly; or
          (F)  an activity conducted by a nonprofit or governmental
entity that provides recreation, education, training, or other care under the
supervision of one (1) or more adults;

     (4)  participating in an activity undertaken at the prior written
direction of the child’s parent, guardian, or custodian; or
     (5)  engaged in interstate or international travel from a location
outside Indiana to another location outside Indiana.

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