CURFEW

Oklahoma City Municipal Code ch. 30, art. XV, div. 1

in effect

Oklahoma City Municipal Code § 30-421 Legislative findings.

§ 30-421. - Legislative findings. The Council of The City of Oklahoma City hereby makes the following findings: (1) The City of Oklahoma City has a compelling governmental interest in restricting certain late-night activities of juveniles in order to protect the health, safety and welfare of juveniles and other persons and their property; and (2) the occurrences of juvenile crime have continued to substantially increase over the past several years; and (3) the 1992 Uniform Crime Report by the Oklahoma City Police Department shows the Police Department arrested and/or handled 7,527 juveniles under 18 years of age. Significantly, in comparison with the 1991 Uniform Crime Report, certain juvenile criminal activities appear to have overwhelmingly increased: Charge | 1991 | 1992 | % Change Larceny (except auto) | 1,328 | 1,698 | +30% Vandalism | 128 | 189 | +48% Weapons (carry-possession) | 107 | 214 | +100% Disorderly conduct | 12 | 50 | +317% Drunkenness | 9 | 40 | +344% (4) the intent of this ordinance is to narrowly tailor the restriction of late-night activities of juveniles to the extent juvenile crime and violence is reduced and juveniles as well as other citizens and their property are protected from harm; and (5) juveniles are particularly vulnerable to the influence of persons who do not have the best interest of the juvenile in mind, due to the inability of juveniles to make important or critical decisions in an informed and mature manner and to avoid choices that could be detrimental to their health, safety or welfare; and (6) the City and many public spirited citizens have expended a great deal of time and energy in trying to deter criminal conduct, assist parents and protect juveniles; and (7) a concern has arisen in the community that certain activities by juveniles, and adults during the night hours endanger the health, safety, and welfare of other persons and their property; and (8) the City does not desire to interfere with the parent-child or parent-juvenile relationship or the parental right to raise their children or juveniles; and (9) while the City recognizes parents and/or responsible adults need wide latitude in supervising their children, the City desires to protect juveniles from nocturnal dangers and encourage parental responsibility; and (10) the City desires to assist the State of Oklahoma in the effective communication and documentation of juvenile offenses, the prevention of juvenile crime, the prevention of child and juvenile abduction, and the adoption of programs to assist in the welfare, development, and counseling of juveniles. (Ord. No. 20169, § 1(30-320.1), 6-21-94)

Oklahoma City Municipal Code § 30-422 Purpose and intent.

§ 30-422. - Purpose and intent. The public purpose of this ordinance is to protect juveniles from nocturnal dangers, enhance parental supervision and responsibility for juveniles and protect the public at large. (Ord. No. 20169, § 1(30-321.1), 6-21-94)

Oklahoma City Municipal Code § 30-422.1 Scope.

§ 30-422.1. - Scope. (a) Except as set forth in Subsection (b) of this section, the provisions of this article apply to any public place or on the premises of any establishment within the corporate City limits of The City of Oklahoma City during curfew hours. (b) The provisions of this article shall not apply to the Bricktown Entertainment Area as defined by Section 38-610(1) of this Code or any other designated areas where there is an exception to the stated curfew hours or other curfew restrictions are imposed. (Ord. No. 23100, § 3, 8-29-06)

Oklahoma City Municipal Code § 30-423 Definitions.

§ 30-423. - Definitions. The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this article, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning: (1) Curfew hours means: a. 12:01 a.m. until 6:00 a.m. on any Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday; and b. 1:00 a.m. until 6:00 a.m. on any Saturday or Sunday. (2) Emergency means an unforeseen combination of circumstances or the resulting state that calls for immediate action. The term includes, but is not limited to, a fire, a natural disaster, an automobile accident, or any situation requiring immediate action to prevent serious bodily injury or loss of life. (3) Establishment means any privately-owned place of business operated for a profit to which the public is invited, including but not limited to any place of amusement or entertainment. (4) Guardian means: a. a person who, under court order, is the guardian of the person of a juvenile; or b. a public or private agency with whom a juvenile has been placed by a court. (5) Juvenile means any person under 18 years of age. (6) Parent means a person who is a natural parent, adoptive parent, or step-parent of another person. (7) Public place means any place to which the public or a substantial group of the public has access and includes, but is not limited to, streets, highways, and the common areas of schools, hospitals, apartment houses, office buildings, transport facilities, and retail establishments. (8) Remain means to: a. linger or stay; or b. fail to leave premises when requested to do so by a police officer or the owner, operator, or other person in control of the premises. (9) Operator means any individual, firm, association, partnership, or corporation operating, managing, or conducting any establishment. The term includes the members or partners of an association or partnership and the officers of a corporation. (10) Responsible adult means any person having, assuming or charged with permanent and/or temporary care and/or custody of a juvenile, including, but not limited to: a. any legal guardian or adult exercising legal guardianship over a juvenile; b. an adult who stands in loco parentis to a juvenile; c. any person to whom legal custody of a juvenile has been given by order of a court; d. any adult who has, assumes or is charged with the care and/or custody of a juvenile at the request of or on behalf of a parent, guardian, loco parentis or person to whom legal custody has been given by order of a court. e. any adult who has, assumes or is charged with the care and/or custody of a juvenile at the requests of on or behalf of another parent. (11) Knowingly permit means the parent, other responsible adult and/or operator as defined herein is aware of the fact the juvenile is in violation of the curfew hours or that said person by exercise of reasonable care would have known that the juvenile is in violation of the curfew hours. (Ord. No. 20169, § 1(30-322.1), 6-21-94)

Oklahoma City Municipal Code § 30-424 Offenses.

§ 30-424. - Offenses. (a) A juvenile commits an offense if he/she remains in any public place or on the premises of any establishment within the corporate City limits of The City of Oklahoma City during curfew hours. (b) A parent and/or other responsible adult of a juvenile commits an offense if: (1) he/she knowingly permits or allows, the juvenile to remain in any public place or on the premises of any establishment within the corporate City limits of the City during curfew hours; and (2) the parent and/or other responsible adult of a juvenile has twice previously acted within any consecutive six-month period so as to knowingly permit or allow said juvenile to remain in any public place or on the premises of any establishment within the corporate City limits of the City during curfew hours. Every subsequent violation thereof will constitute a separate violation. (c) The owner, operator, or any employee of an establishment commits an offense if he knowingly permits or allows a juvenile to remain upon the premises of the establishment during curfew hours. (Ord. No. 20169, § 1(30-323.1), 6-21-94)

Oklahoma City Municipal Code § 30-425 Defenses.

§ 30-425. - Defenses. (a) It is a defense to prosecution under Section 30-424 that the juvenile was at the time in question: (1) accompanied by the juvenile's parent or responsible adult; (2) on an errand at the direction of the juvenile's parent or responsible adult, without any detour or stop; (3) in a motor vehicle involved in interstate travel; (4) engaged in an employment activity, or going to or returning home from an employment activity, without any detour or stop; (5) involved in an emergency; (6) on the sidewalk abutting the juvenile's residence or abutting the residence of a next-door neighbor if the neighbor did not complain to the Police Department about the juvenile's presence; (7) attending, going to or returning home, without any detour or stop, from an official school, religious, or other recreational activity supervised by adults or an event sponsored by The City of Oklahoma City, a civic organization, or another similar entity that takes responsibility for the juvenile; (8) exercising First Amendment rights protected by the United States Constitution, such as the free exercise of religion, freedom of speech, and the right of assembly or other rights protected by the United States or the Oklahoma Constitution; or (9) married or had been married or had disabilities of minority removed in accordance with State law. (b) It is a defense to prosecution under Section 30-424(c) that the owner, operator, or employee of an establishment promptly notified the Police Department that a juvenile was present on the premises of the establishment during curfew hours and refused to leave. (Ord. No. 20169, § 1(30-324.1), 6-21-94)

Oklahoma City Municipal Code § 30-426 Enforcement.

§ 30-426. - Enforcement. Before taking any enforcement action under this section, a police officer shall ask the apparent offender's age and reason for being in the public place. The officer shall not issue a citation or make an arrest under this section unless the officer reasonably believes that an offense has occurred and that based on any response and other circumstances, no defense in Section 30-425 is present. Absent an interlocal agreement with the District Court for the Municipal Court to exercise jurisdiction over juveniles under 18 years of age under Section 30-424 pursuant to 10 O.S. § 7303-1.2(E) as amended by H.B. 2640 of the 1994 Regular Session of the Oklahoma Legislature, the Municipal Court must refer all alleged juvenile violations to the Juvenile Bureau of the District Attorney's Office. (Ord. No. 20169, § 1(30-325.1), 6-21-94)

Oklahoma City Municipal Code § 30-427 Penalties.

§ 30-427. - Penalties. (a) A person who violates a provision of this division is guilty of a separate Class "a" offense for each day or part of a day during which the violation is committed, continued, or permitted. The court may require community service work prescribed by the court in lieu of a fine if the product of multiplying the number of minimum hours of community service work by the prevailing wage does not result in a number which exceeds the maximum fine authorized by law. (b) The Municipal Court's jurisdiction over a juvenile who violates Section 30-424 of this division shall be expressly subject to Title 10 O.S., as amended by H.B. 2640 of the 1994 Regular Session of the Oklahoma Legislature. (Ord. No. 20169, § 1(30-326.1), 6-21-94; Ord. No. 20511, § 1, 1-16-96; Ord. No. 22655, § 2, 2-8-05; Ord. No. 23182, § 10, 11-7-06)

Source: City of Oklahoma City, Municipal Code and City Charter (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/ok/oklahoma_city/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=OKMUCO2020_CH30MIPROF_ARTXVOFAGPU_DIV1CUFetched: 10/28/2026