Rock Hill, SC Public Conduct: Loitering Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- School/church loitering
- Banned under § 20-137, all city limits
- Trespass rule
- Outsiders need legitimate business on grounds
- Jail loitering
- § 20-138 bars loitering or talking to inmates
- Penalty
- Up to $500 fine or 30 days jail
- Enforcement
- Rock Hill Police Department, municipal court
Summary
Rock Hill bans loitering or loafing around any college, school, hospital, orphanage or church inside city limits, and separately makes it unlawful to loiter about the city jail or communicate with a prisoner there without staff consent. Outsiders trespassing on institution grounds without legitimate business face the same prohibition. Rock Hill police enforce both sections under the Code's general penalty.
Sec. 20-137. - Loitering about school, church, hospital or orphanage. It is unlawful for any person to loiter or loaf about any college, school, hospital, orphanage or church within the corporate limits of the city. It is unlawful for any person not connected therewith, unless on legitimate business, to trespass upon any of the grounds of any such institution or continuously to ride any vehicle over the streets near any such institution. Sec. 20-138. - Loitering about jail; unauthorized communication with prisoners. It is unlawful for any person to loiter about the jail of the city or to communicate with any prisoner therein without the consent of the officer of the city in charge.
Full Breakdown
' Both sections sit in Chapter 20's Article V, Division 1 on offenses against public order, alongside the disorderly conduct and school-disturbance sections that precede them. 00 or imprisonment not exceeding 30 days, with each day the conduct continues counted as a separate offense. Rock Hill police, not school or hospital security, make the arrest or issue the citation.
Violations & Fines
Loitering about a school, hospital, orphanage or church, or about the city jail without permission, is punishable under § 1-11's general penalty: up to a $500.00 fine or 30 days in jail. A continuous violation, such as repeatedly riding past an institution, is charged as a new offense each day it persists.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I be arrested for standing near a Rock Hill school?
Is it illegal to talk to someone in the Rock Hill jail?
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Sources & Official References
Other rules in Rock Hill
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