Warren, MI Public Conduct: Loitering Rules (2026)

Sec. 22-106 is Warren's general loitering ordinance. It defines loitering to mean remaining idle in essentially one location, including spending time idly, lingering, sauntering, delaying, standing around, or 'hanging around,' and defines public place broadly to include streets, sidewalks, parks, public grounds, and the front or immediate area of any store, shop, restaurant, or tavern. Subsection (b) makes it unlawful to loiter, loaf, wander, stand, or remain idle, alone or with others, in a public place in four specific ways: obstructing a street, sidewalk, or public building by hindering the free passage of vehicles or pedestrians; committing an act that interferes with the free use of property or with a lawfully conducted business fronting the public way; obstructing a business entrance against the wishes of the owner or manager without a lawful purpose; or, by words or conduct, harassing, assaulting, molesting, or intimidating another person, or creating a reasonable belief that a breach of the peace is imminent.

Subsection (c) lists relevant circumstances for that last category, such as fleeing or hiding at the sight of a police officer. Critically, subsection (d) builds in a due-process check: before an officer can arrest someone under the harassment/breach-of-peace clause, the officer must give the person a chance to explain their presence and conduct, unless flight or other circumstances make that impracticable, and no conviction stands if the officer skipped that step or if the person's explanation, if believed at the time, would have dispelled the officer's concern.

An officer who observes any of the prohibited conditions must first order the person to stop, move on, or disperse, and only a refusal to comply completes the violation.