Surry County, NC Public Conduct: Loitering Rules (2026)

Section 131.02 makes it unlawful to remain or wander about in a public place for the purpose of violating any provision of the North Carolina Controlled Substances Act, G.S. Chapter 90, Article 5. The prohibited conduct is defined narrowly: repeatedly beckoning to, stopping, or attempting to engage passers-by in conversation; repeatedly stopping or attempting to stop motor vehicles; repeatedly interfering with the free passage of other persons; or repeatedly passing to or receiving from passers-by, on foot or in a vehicle, money or objects. Section 131.01 defines a public place broadly to include any street, sidewalk, bridge, alley or alleyway, plaza, park, driveway, parking lot or transportation facility, the doorways and entrances of buildings fronting those places, a vehicle in or on any of those places, or any property owned by Surry County.

Because the ordinance is tied to drug-law purpose rather than loitering generally, an officer must connect the repeated conduct to an intent to violate the Controlled Substances Act. The Sheriff's Office enforces the chapter, and any violation without its own stated penalty falls back to the county's general penalty section, § 10.99.