As Pennsylvania youths get older, they may love the thought of staying out later at night. As a parent, you know that teenagers may not always consider curfew laws and what might happen if these laws are broken. At the Marinaro Law, we are committed to helping you and your teenagers understand their options if your teens find themselves in trouble with the law.

If teenagers want to stay out of trouble with the law, it is important for them to understand curfew laws. The City of Lancaster says that curfew laws determine when minors can be at particular businesses and public places without your supervision. Minors usually cannot be out by themselves between 12 a.m. and 6 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. during the rest of the week. These laws are in place to protect youths from any crime that someone commits against them during these hours and are also intended to keep them from engaging in any kind of criminal activity.

If your son or daughter does not have a good reason to be out during curfew hours, he or she may receive a citation. Sometimes a minor may need to pay a $50 fine. This fine usually increases if adolescents continue to break curfew laws. After the fourth time an adolescent commits this offense, he or she may need to work with the juvenile court system. There are, of course, times when your minor child can legally be out during curfew hours. These include times when he or she is running an errand for you or coming home from work. Students may also be out past 10 p.m. on weeknights if they are participating in a religious or school activity.

While you may not see a curfew violation as a grave occurrence, it is important to take these incidents seriously, especially if your child has broken curfew laws more than three times. When you work with a juvenile court, your son or daughter may sometimes need to perform community service to learn to change his or her behavior. More information about this subject can be found on our webpage.