§ 173-2. Purpose and findings.

This is an updating of the Town of Madison ordinance prescribing, in accordance with prevailing community standards, regulations for the conduct of minors on streets at night, effectively enforced, taught in the homes, internalized and adhered to for generations, all for the good of minors, for the furtherance of family responsibility, and for the public good, safety and welfare.

A. 

Effect on juvenile delinquency. The Madison Board of Selectmen finds that the curfew meets a very real local need, has been over the years a significant factor in minimizing juvenile delinquency and should be updated and amplified in the light of the Town's local situation and facts, including the following.

B. 

Proper time for outdoor activities. This community sense of the proper time for cessation of outdoor activities by minors on the streets is reflected in the curfew hours declared by this chapter which takes into consideration also the danger hours for nocturnal crime and for accumulations of minors with potential risks incident to immaturity.

C. 

No commercial recreational facilities. Commercial recreational facilities for juveniles are almost nonexistent and there is little or nothing for minors to do outdoors but roam the streets after the curfew hours which this chapter declares.

D. 

Parental responsibility. Parental responsibility for the whereabouts of children is the norm, legal sanctions to enforce such responsibility have had a demonstrated effectiveness over the years, as parental control increases likelihood of juvenile delinquency decreases, and there is a continuing need for the nocturnal curfew for minors which has achieved and will continue to achieve under local conditions the purposes hereinbefore stated.