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Since You Asked: Unattended kid in a car can lead to a citation Wednesday Oct 18, 2017 at 12:01 AM A friend told me recently that she had called the police to report that two kids were left alone in a car in a store parking lot. It wasn't a particularly hot day and, while I would never do that, I wondered if it's even a crime to leave a child in a car on a day where the temperature is not an issue? — Hanna, by email Yes, it can be a crime to leave a child unattended in a vehicle, regardless of the temperature. In Medford, it's definitely a crime; for the state, it's a crime if it's likely to endanger the child. Oregon Revised Statute 163.545 says, "A person having custody or control of a child under 10 years of age commits the crime of child neglect in the second degree if, with criminal negligence, the person leaves the child unattended in or at any place for such period of time as may be likely to endanger the health or welfare of such child." That leaves a lot of room for interpretation — is criminal negligence involved and is the act likely to endanger the child? One officer quoted in a story in The Oregonian noted that she likely would not cite a mom who ran back into the house to grab something she had left behind. But the officer also noted that adults considering that should also consider the worst-case scenario — she raised the specter of a sexual predator lurking nearby. Medford's municipal code leaves no such room for interpretation. Code 5.190, titled "Unattended Children in Vehicles," says,  "No person having custody or control of a child under 10 years of age shall leave the child unattended in any vehicle on a public street or alley, or a parking area that is open to the public. For the purposes of this section, to leave a child unattended means to leave a child without the custody or control of a person 14 years of age or older." Medford's code does not prohibit leaving a child in a car parked in a private driveway, but if the circumstances warranted, in the case of hot weather, for example, the offending adult could still be cited under state law. — Send questions to “Since You Asked,” Mail Tribune Newsroom, P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501; by fax to 541-776-4376; or by email to [email protected]. We’re sorry, but the volume of questions received prevents us from answering all of them.