Plantation, FL Public Conduct: Loitering Rules (2026)

Section 17-8 makes it unlawful for any person, without lawful business or excuse, to loiter or prowl within a 500-foot distance of any school while the school is in session, under circumstances that warrant a justifiable and reasonable alarm or immediate concern for the safety of persons or property in the vicinity. The ordinance lists specific circumstances an officer may weigh in deciding whether that alarm is warranted: the person takes flight when a law enforcement officer appears, refuses to identify himself, or manifestly tries to conceal himself or an object.

Before making an arrest, unless flight or other circumstances make it impracticable, an officer must first give the person a chance to dispel the concern by asking him to identify himself and explain his presence and conduct. No conviction can stand if the officer skipped that step, or if the explanation given turns out to be true and, had the officer believed it at the time, would have dispelled the alarm. The section traces to Ord. No. 1542, § 1, adopted March 23, 1988, and cross-references the city's general trespass provision at § 17-5.

Because § 17-8 carries no penalty of its own, the general penalty clause, § 1-13, governs: a fine of up to $500, imprisonment of up to 60 days, or both, with a continuing fine of up to $500 for each day a violation goes uncorrected after adjudication.