Concord, NC Public Conduct: Loitering Rules (2026)

Sec. S. Ch. 90, Art. 5. Public place is defined broadly in Sec. 42-9(b) to include streets, sidewalks, parks, parking lots, transportation facilities, apartment or condo common areas, businesses open to the public, and any adjoining private property the public can readily access. Sec. 42-9(e) lists nine factors officers may weigh in deciding whether someone is loitering for drug purposes, including repeatedly beckoning or stopping passers-by or vehicles, repeatedly obstructing pedestrian passage, repeatedly exchanging money or objects with passers-by, being a known unlawful drug user, possessor, or seller, defined in Sec.

42-9(c) as someone previously convicted of a drug crime, fleeing or evading police, being at a location known for drug activity, or being in or dealing with a vehicle registered to a known drug offender or recently tied to drug activity. No arrest or charge can be made unless the circumstances establish probable cause that the person intended to violate the Controlled Substances Act (Sec. 42-9(f)). The section carries its own severability clause protecting the rest of the ordinance if any part is struck down (Sec. 42-9(g)), and Concord Police Department officers are the enforcing authority citywide.