Scranton, PA Curfew Laws: Juvenile Curfew (2026)

Scranton's juvenile-curfew authority rests on two pillars. First, Pennsylvania's general municipal-curfew framework: home-rule cities and other municipalities have authority under the Home Rule Charter and Optional Plans Law at 53 Pa.C.S. §2961 and the general police power - upheld by Pennsylvania case-law involving municipal curfew ordinances subject to constitutional carve-outs for First Amendment activity and parental rights - to enact and enforce juvenile-curfew ordinances. Second, the Scranton City Code's peace-and-good-order chapter, which codifies the local curfew. The ordinance defines a 'juvenile' or 'minor' as any person under the age of 18 and prohibits juveniles from being on public streets, sidewalks, parks, or other public places during overnight hours - historically with separate weekday and weekend hour windows (commonly 10:00 p.m. or 11:00 p.m. start with a 6:00 a.m. end), subject to council revision and to seasonal tightening during summer months. The Scranton ordinance includes the standard exception list required by Pennsylvania case law to survive constitutional challenge: (a) a juvenile accompanied by a parent or guardian; (b) a juvenile engaged in or traveling directly to or from gainful lawful employment; (c) a juvenile attending or traveling directly to or from a school, church, or civic activity sponsored by a recognized organization; (d) a juvenile responding to an emergency; (e) a juvenile exercising First Amendment rights (speech, religion, assembly); and (f) a juvenile traveling through Scranton by motor vehicle. The ordinance also imposes parental responsibility on a parent or guardian who knowingly permits a juvenile to violate the curfew, exposing the parent to a separate citation. Scranton Police are the primary enforcer; first-contact handling typically involves return of the juvenile to the parent or guardian rather than physical custody, with formal citations reserved for repeat contacts and for juveniles involved in concurrent disorderly conduct, vandalism, underage drinking, or other offenses. Under Scranton's Quality of Life Ticketing Program (PA Act 90 of 2010, 53 P.S. §38001 et seq.), officers may also use civil-fine ticketing for routine curfew breaches. Cases involving substantive juvenile offenses are referred to the Lackawanna County Juvenile Probation Office under the Pennsylvania juvenile-court framework at 42 Pa.C.S. §6301 et seq.