Monroe's Halloween curfew runs Oct. 29, 30 and 31

Monroe - The Monroe Village Board has enacted a Halloween curfew designed to keep young people under the age of 18 off the streets between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 29, 30 and 31. “The Village is besieged by youths who create problems for residents and the Monroe Police Department,” according to the language creating the curfew. “To complicate the situation, the Police Department has determined that many of the youth were non-residents who refuse to leave the village due to the fact that there were no laws requiring them to be off the streets.” Penalties range from a simple warning and a call to the child’s parents to fines of up to $250 as well as community service. There are, of course, exemptions, such as when a child is accompanied by an adult or guardian. Then there is this exemption: “Any minor attending a special function or entertainment of any church, school, club or organization that requires such minor to be out at a later hour than called for within this Proclamation shall be exempt ... provided such church, school, club or other similar organization register in advance with the Monroe Police Department to have the minors stay out to this later hour.” The village curfew also defines public place as any street, alley, highway, sidewalk, park, playground as well as any store, shop, restaurant, tavern, bowling alley, café, theater, drugstore, pool room, shopping center and any other place devoted to amusement. If you are going to be out on any of these evenings, you better have a place to go because “it shall be unlawful for any minor to remain idle, wander, stroll, or play in any public place, either on foot or to cruise about without a set destination in any vehicle, in, about or upon any place in the village.” Major James C. Purcell also asked that “all drivers be more alert on Halloween due to the increase in pedestrian traffic that will be moving through the village and that everyone who is out that night, please respect your community.”