Muncie, IN Public Conduct: Loitering Rules (2026)

Muncie's loitering ban sits in Division 2, "Offenses Against Peace," of Chapter 130, General Offenses, and traces back to § 93.22 of the 1968 Code. It reaches an unusually broad list of locations: any public place, park, cemetery, shed, car, carshop, outhouse, street, alley, railroad depot, switchhouse, or anywhere intoxicating beverages are sold. The Muncie Police Department is the enforcing agency, since the offense sits alongside the city's other peace-and-order provisions rather than under a licensing chapter with its own inspector. Chapter 130 does not define "idle" or "loiter" beyond the plain words of § 130.12, so enforcement turns on whether an officer observes a person remaining in one of the listed locations.

The same division separately bars lying or sleeping in public places, alleys, or outbuildings under § 130.13 and begging anywhere in the city under § 130.14, both enforced the same way as § 130.12. None of these three sections carries its own penalty clause; all three cross-reference the citywide general penalty at § 10.99, which caps the fine at $2,500.00 for each offense and sets no minimum.