What is loitering?

Loitering refers to the act of remaining at a particular place irrespective of it being a public place or a private place for a specific amount of time without any sheer purpose. According to some jurisdictions, the definition of loitering may include either indoor loitering, wearing a mask or getting disguise in public, such as anywhere in New York. While, the laws contradicting the ideas of loitering has been challenged and changed over time. Hence, loitering is still being a part of the various jurisdictions and in other specific circumstances.

Loitering in history has been treated as an inherent process offense to other forms of existing public crime and disorder, such as that of prostitution, public drunkenness, begging, dealing of stolen commodities, scams, organized crime, robbery, harassment and mobbing. Loitering provides a lesser offence that can be utilized by the police to confront and render suspicion against specific individuals from loitering around in a high-crime area especially when the criminal intent is under suspicion and not readily observed. Local areas however, have varied upon the degree to which the police have empowered upon the arrest or disperse loiterers.  Limitations have been placed upon the fact of lingering in areas related to issues with concerns regarding racial profiling and unnecessary use of the police force. This offense tends to a highly subjective matter, and in many places loitering is a crime in and on itself while in the others it is referred to as a serious criminal activity that when observed by the police, is subjected to take action against.

Is loitering a felony?

In many of the cities, states and towns there are placed statues or ordinances against loitering which aim towards the control of aggressive begging, soliciting prostitution, dealing of drugs, public drunkenness and entries to store. Under the framework of such laws, the police can arrest anyone and everyone who refuses to move along with the police when asked for. These particular laws are at time criticized by the critics who think that these laws claim disfavored groups of violation towards their constitutional rights.

Loitering is referred to as a crime under the situations which have been mentioned below,

• Remaining or wandering in a public situated place for begging.
• Loitering or remaining in a public place for a long time aiming towards the purpose of gambling.
• Remaining at a public place for the engagement of oneself in activities related to prostitution or any sexual conduct.
• Being a masked loiterer at some place without any real purpose.
• Loitering in any regarded premise of a school, college or university after being instructed by the concerned authority to take a leave from the respective premise.
• Loitering to remaining within any transportation facility unless being specifically provided with the authorization to do so, along with any purpose of business activity or commercial transactions.
• Loitering or remaining at any specified place with one or more than one person having a purpose of unlawful possession of any dangerous drug with oneself.

Examples of loitering

There is an example of Massachusetts statue which deals specifically with the loitering of an individual in any area of public transportation facility which says that,

“Whoever without right enters or remains or loiters in a station, the waiting room or the terminal of a public transportation facility or upon any platform, stairs or grounds or upon any other part of the premises of a public transportation facility, after having been forbidden so to do either by no prior notice, o by the person who carries the lawful control of the mentioned premises shall punish the offender with the legal fine of more than a hundred dollar along with which may even be arrested without any warrant by such an officer or be kept in custody in a convenient place not more than a time of twenty-four hours. However, Sundays and legal holidays are excepted for the time periods of the custody or again maybe taken to the court and placed in front of the magistrate according to the mentioned law and proceedings”.

In some of the areas, kids gather around simple with a motive to hang out and do nothing productive. Many choose to loiter with friends, rather than to attend school and others get together after school. In an effort to deter the disturbance in peace as well as crimes related to shoplifting and vandalism, all of these laws have specified ordinances to have a proper dealing with minors regarding loitering. In the field of these jurisdictions, minors are generally prohibited from loitering in certain specified areas such as parking lots, sidewalks, roads and alleys and in front of the business related areas. In an addition to this, many of the jurisdictions set specific time periods for the allowance of minors in those areas. Minors held responsible for loitering are often fined as specified or compelled to do social work. In the other remaining cases, the minor’s parents may be held responsible for their kids’ activities.

Laws of Loitering

The Vagrancy act which was proposed in the year of 1824 was specially designed to place a prevention upon the suspected persons and the reputed thieves who linger about certain specified places. There was a slight modification in this act by 34 and 35 Vict, c.112, the Prevention of Crimes Act 1871, and by the 54 and 55 Vict.c.69, known as the Penal Servitude Act 1891. A Vagrancy Act again in the year of 1898 was passed only to have a repetition by the Sexual Offences act 2003, and a complete elimination from the archive. This particular act which was proposed in the year of 1824 in the section 6 “any person whatsoever” to apprehend the offenders and to bring them directly in front of the Justice of the Peace.

The police officers in the region of South Australia may ask an individual to stop loitering in any kind of a public place where they have a belief upon the reasonable ground:

• That a person who has been or is about to be committed by the person or by others within the vicinity.
• That a breach of the peace might have occurred, is occurring or is about to occur within the vicinity of the person or in a group.
• That the safety of an individual within the vicinity which might be in danger.

Laws related to loitering no more exist in Sweden, but “The Public Order Act” controls what one can do and what an individual cannot do in public. The municipality takes the decision of what rules might apply. As an example, it is not allowed to drink in public or in some designated public places. Loitering can be prohibited under those particular circumstances.

Loitering is public is not any illegal activity in New Zealand. It is however, related to any offence to loiter with the intent to commit an imprisonable offence.

In United States, within several of the jurisdictions which exists, individuals are required to register as sex offenders are prohibited from loitering within a defined distance of schools, parks or other places where children may congregate. In the year of 1992, Chicago had adopted an anti-loitering law which aimed at restricting gang related activity especially a violent crime or trafficking related to drugs. The law, which specifically defines loitering as remaining in any one place with no such real purpose had given the police officers a right to disperse such group of individuals and in any case related to disobedience may lead to arrest or custody by the officer on duty.