Erie, PA Public Conduct: Loitering Rules (2026)

02 splits the offense into two tiers. The first applies to a person who loiters in a public place with purpose to commit or aid a drug abuse offense while also repeatedly beckoning, stopping or attempting to stop passers-by or pedestrians in conversation; repeatedly stopping or attempting to stop motor vehicles; or repeatedly interfering with the free passage of others. The second, broader clause makes it unlawful simply to loiter in any public place with that same drug-related purpose, without requiring one of those overt acts.

"Public place" is defined expansively to include streets, alleys, sidewalks, rights-of-way, bridges, plazas, parks, driveways, parking lots, transportation facilities, building entrances and porches fronting those areas, and vehicles parked in them. 03 gives courts a specific list of factors to weigh in deciding whether the required drug-related purpose existed: a drug abuse conviction or delinquency finding within the preceding three years, directing pedestrians or motorists toward a person or premises known for drug activity through gestures or hailing, carrying an electronic device or beeper within 100 yards of such a person or premises, or any statement by the accused.

04 builds in a due-process check: police must first ask the person to explain their conduct before making an arrest, and a conviction cannot stand if the explanation given, considered against the surrounding circumstances, discloses a lawful purpose. The article, adopted by Ordinance No. 29-1993, sits alongside but is separate from Erie's general disorderly conduct loitering clause in Article 705; this is the dedicated drug-loitering statute.