Waterbury, CT Public Conduct: Loitering Rules (2026)

41 of the Waterbury Code of Ordinances declares it unlawful for any assembly of three or more persons to loiter upon any highway, sidewalk, bridge or structure adjacent thereto. The section states its own purpose: keeping streets, sidewalks and public places free from undue noise and nuisances and prohibiting loitering there, while directing peace officers to keep public places open and safe for travel, free of encroachment or obstruction, and to prevent trespassing on public and private land. Division (A) also lets a peace officer enforce the section against loitering on private property, but only upon the request of the property's owner, so officers cannot invoke it on private land unilaterally.

The section does not itself criminalize mere presence of a group; division (B) makes it unlawful specifically to disobey a peace officer's demand to immediately disperse, so the offense attaches to refusing a dispersal order rather than to loitering alone. Anyone found in violation has an appeal path built into the ordinance: division (C) lets an aggrieved person file a written appeal with the police legal advisor, acting as hearing officer, within 15 days of the infraction, with a hearing and ruling due within 30 days of filing and further appeal to the Superior Court.

Division (D) requires the Superintendent of Police to report on the section's effectiveness to the Board of Police Commissioners and Board of Aldermen every January and July. 1, adopted by ordinance February 20, 1990.