{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.loitering","code":"thing-q2380751","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/q2380751/","name":"loitering","alternateNames":[],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.1.0-research.1","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Activities and processes","entryKind":"thing","plane":"ACT","domain":["ACT.ACT"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{}},"whatItIs":"Loitering is remaining in or moving slowly about a place for a prolonged time without an immediately apparent purpose, a characterization that depends on context and does not by itself establish unlawful conduct.","purpose":"Enable an agent to recognise and assess episodes described as loitering while distinguishing observed lingering from inferred purpose, social disapproval and any separately established legal classification.","scope":{"in":["Episodes of lingering, including stationary presence and short movements within a bounded area","Duration, recurrence, movement and interruptions of an episode","Participants' stated purposes and observers' interpretations","Place-specific expectations about staying, waiting and moving through","Evidence and uncertainty supporting a loitering designation","Responses to the episode and their observable consequences"],"out":["Public-space ownership, access rights and property administration as independent subjects","Jurisdiction-specific offences, enforcement powers and legal proceedings","Homelessness, employment status or other personal circumstances as classifications of people","Stalking, harassment, trespass and obstruction as separately evidenced activities","Organised assembly, protest and social gatherings as collective activities","Loitering flight modes and loitering munitions"],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["The episode involves sustained or recurrent local presence; a single uninterrupted passage through the area does not meet this model's activity boundary.","Lack of an apparent task is an observer's information state; a participant's explanation can support reclassification as waiting, resting or another activity.","Movement does not automatically exclude loitering: pacing or circulating locally can preserve an episode of lingering.","A loitering designation alone supplies no evidence of obstruction, intimidation, trespass or criminal intent; each requires separate observations and criteria.","The same observed presence can receive different classifications under ordinary usage, site rules and legal definitions; the applicable frame must be recorded."],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"lingering-episode","name":"Lingering episode","description":"The temporal and spatial activity that a loitering designation attempts to describe.","layers":[{"id":"temporal-continuity","name":"Temporal continuity","description":"Establishes observed duration, gaps and recurrence.","findings":[{"id":"bounded-presence","name":"Bounded presence","description":"Record the observed interval and distinguish continuous presence from separated sightings.","questions":[{"text":"When was presence first and last observed, and are the actual arrival and departure times known?","id":"bounded-presence-q01","kind":"measurement"},{"text":"Which observation gaps prevent treating the presence as continuous?","id":"bounded-presence-q02","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"spatial-persistence","name":"Spatial persistence","description":"Determines what counts as staying in the same place despite local movement.","findings":[{"id":"local-movement-envelope","name":"Local movement envelope","description":"Describe the occupied area and movements before deciding whether the episode is lingering or passage.","questions":[{"text":"What area contains the observed standing, sitting, pacing or circulation?","id":"local-movement-envelope-q01","kind":"measurement"},{"text":"What observed departure or change of destination would end this episode rather than extend it?","id":"local-movement-envelope-q02","kind":"boundary"}]}]}]},{"id":"purpose-and-alternatives","name":"Purpose and alternative interpretations","description":"Separates the activity's possible purposes from the observer's ability to recognise them.","layers":[{"id":"purpose-evidence","name":"Purpose evidence","description":"Tracks what is known about why a participant remains.","findings":[{"id":"apparent-versus-stated-purpose","name":"Apparent versus stated purpose","description":"Keep participant accounts, observed activity and inferred motives distinct; an undisclosed purpose remains unknown.","questions":[{"text":"Has the participant stated a purpose, and where does that account come from?","id":"apparent-versus-stated-purpose-q01","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which assertions about aimlessness or intent are interpretations rather than observations?","id":"apparent-versus-stated-purpose-q02","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"neighbouring-activities","name":"Neighbouring activities","description":"Tests whether another activity better explains the same presence.","findings":[{"id":"waiting-resting-and-socialising","name":"Waiting, resting and socialising","description":"Compare plausible activity descriptions without assuming that one episode must have only one purpose.","questions":[{"text":"What evidence supports waiting, resting, sheltering or socialising as an interpretation of this episode?","id":"waiting-resting-and-socialising-q01","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Under the chosen definition, does an identified purpose exclude loitering, permit overlap or leave the designation disputed?","id":"waiting-resting-and-socialising-q02","kind":"boundary"}]}]}]},{"id":"place-and-staying-expectations","name":"Place and staying expectations","description":"Relates lingering to the uses and expectations of the particular setting.","layers":[{"id":"setting-use","name":"Setting use","description":"Describes the location's relationship to waiting, resting and passage.","findings":[{"id":"opportunities-and-reasons-to-stay","name":"Opportunities and reasons to stay","description":"Record contextual explanations such as seating, queues, service delays and meeting points.","questions":[{"text":"What features or activities make remaining here an expected use of the place?","id":"opportunities-and-reasons-to-stay-q01","kind":"definition"},{"text":"What conditions during the episode, such as a delayed service or closed entrance, could explain prolonged presence?","id":"opportunities-and-reasons-to-stay-q02","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"staying-expectations","name":"Staying expectations","description":"Makes explicit whose expectations turn lingering into a disputed use of space.","findings":[{"id":"attributed-expectation","name":"Attributed expectation","description":"Distinguish a documented site rule from an informal preference or an observer's assumption.","questions":[{"text":"Who says the participant should move on, and what stated expectation supports that position?","id":"attributed-expectation-q01","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Is that expectation a site rule, an informal convention or an individual preference, and what remains unverified about its applicability?","id":"attributed-expectation-q02","kind":"boundary"}]}]}]},{"id":"designation-and-evidence","name":"Designation and evidence","description":"Treats calling an episode loitering as an attributable classification that requires criteria.","layers":[{"id":"classification-frame","name":"Classification frame","description":"Identifies the sense of loitering being applied.","findings":[{"id":"definition-in-use","name":"Definition in use","description":"Record whether the label belongs to ordinary speech, an operational research definition, a site policy or a separately verified legal framework.","questions":[{"text":"What definition and classification frame does this particular use of 'loitering' invoke?","id":"definition-in-use-q01","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Which source establishes those criteria, and which criteria have actually been assessed?","id":"definition-in-use-q02","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"evidence-and-contestation","name":"Evidence and contestation","description":"Assesses support for the label and preserves alternative accounts.","findings":[{"id":"auditable-designation","name":"Auditable designation","description":"Tie the designation to observed conduct and preserve disagreements, missing context and potential inconsistency in its application.","questions":[{"text":"Which observations support the designation, and which contrary accounts or missing observations limit it?","id":"auditable-designation-q01","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Would the same recorded conduct receive the same designation if the participant's perceived identity or social status differed?","id":"auditable-designation-q02","kind":"boundary"}]}]}]},{"id":"effects-and-response","name":"Effects and response","description":"Connects the episode to demonstrated effects, justified responses and later reassessment.","layers":[{"id":"specific-effects","name":"Specific effects","description":"Separates lingering from additional conduct and its consequences.","findings":[{"id":"presence-versus-interference","name":"Presence versus interference","description":"Record effects such as impeded passage independently of the loitering designation and distinguish them from reported unease.","questions":[{"text":"What specific effect on passage, access or other activities was observed, and how was it measured or documented?","id":"presence-versus-interference-q01","kind":"measurement"},{"text":"Does the evidence establish a separate activity such as obstruction or harassment that requires its own model?","id":"presence-versus-interference-q02","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"response-and-reassessment","name":"Response and reassessment","description":"Records the basis for action and how outcomes affect interpretation.","findings":[{"id":"evidence-linked-response","name":"Evidence-linked response","description":"Consider leaving the episode undisturbed, offering assistance or addressing a demonstrated effect; any restrictive response requires a separately established basis.","questions":[{"text":"What response, including no intervention, is supported by the observed effects, participant needs and the agent's established authority?","id":"evidence-linked-response-q01","kind":"action"},{"text":"What new explanation or observed outcome would require revising the designation or ending the response?","id":"evidence-linked-response-q02","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"evidence-and-external-alignment","name":"Evidence and external alignment","description":"What the world already says about this thing, gathered so the model can be checked against it.","layers":[{"id":"reported-evidence","name":"Reported evidence","description":"Findings from the breadth pass, kept separate from the structural claims.","findings":[{"id":"evidence-confidence-notes","name":"Check these first","description":"Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these check these first hold for the sense of loitering this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-confidence-notes-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-real-world-use","name":"Real-world use","description":"Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these real-world use hold for the sense of loitering this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-real-world-use-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-measurements","name":"Typical measurements","description":"Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these typical measurements hold for the sense of loitering this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-measurements-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-failure-modes-and-hazards","name":"Failure modes and hazards","description":"Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these failure modes and hazards hold for the sense of loitering this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-failure-modes-and-hazards-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-regional-variation","name":"Regional variation","description":"Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these regional variation hold for the sense of loitering this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-regional-variation-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-neighbours","name":"Neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart","description":"Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart hold for the sense of loitering this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-neighbours-q01","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["Explain what loitering means and how laws on it differ between places.","Report a person in visible distress or danger to the appropriate service."],"mustNot":["Label a person as loitering, and so suspicious, from their appearance, age or ethnicity.","Track, photograph or identify people for lingering in a public place without legal basis.","Order people to move on or use force against them.","Present loitering as a crime where the local law does not make it one."],"requiresHuman":["Calling police or security about a person who is simply present in a place."]},"ethics":{"considerations":["Loitering rules have long been used to target homeless people, young people and minorities.","Being in public space without a stated purpose is ordinary human behaviour."],"affectedParties":["Homeless people","Young people","Minority groups"]},"owners":{"steward":"Nobody owns the behaviour; local authorities set the rules for public spaces.","roles":[],"masterSystems":[]},"relations":[{"target":"Q24902509","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.loitering","Wikidata: Q2380751 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2380751)"]},"properties":{"applicability":"not-applicable","items":["Episode duration: Seconds or minutes, with observation bounds and unknown start or end marked","Local movement pattern: Stationary; pacing; circulating; departing and returning; mixed; unknown","Presence area: Episode linked to a described place and explicit spatial boundary","Purpose evidence: Participant-stated; directly observed activity; observer-inferred; conflicting; unavailable","Reported purpose: Waiting; resting; socialising; sheltering; watching; other stated purpose; undisclosed; unknown","Designation attribution: Loitering label linked to its speaker or institution, time, criteria and classification frame","Interpretation state: Provisional; supported under recorded criteria; disputed; revised; unresolved","Observed interference: None observed; passage impeded; access impeded; other specified effect; not assessed","Observation coverage: Observed minutes and gap durations, with continuous or intermittent coverage indicated"]},"recognition":{"applicability":"not-applicable","items":[]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["Construct a bounded account of lingering from observations while retaining gaps and uncertainty.","Compare loitering, waiting, resting and socialising interpretations against available evidence.","Attribute and compare competing loitering designations without treating one observer's label as fact.","Identify what additional context would resolve an ambiguity and whether obtaining it is necessary and proportionate.","Separate responses to demonstrated interference from responses based only on a loitering label.","Revise or withdraw a designation when later evidence changes its basis."]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Mistaking waiting or resting for suspicious behavior can lead to harassment or unjustified exclusion.","Inferring intent from appearance or presence can reinforce discriminatory surveillance and enforcement.","Treating lingering alone as evidence of danger can cause unnecessary confrontation."]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"not-applicable","items":[]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["Loitering is a description used for lingering in public or shared places without an immediately apparent purpose.","It appears in discussions of public space, access and security, where observed behavior must be distinguished from assumptions about intention."]}},"sources":[{"title":"Wikidata item Q2380751: loitering","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2380751","note":"identity and sense of the item"},{"title":"Wikipedia: Loitering","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loitering","note":"general description of the item"}],"openQuestions":["Which reference definitions should anchor this registry entry, particularly on whether loitering requires aimlessness or merely an absence of apparent purpose?","Should the entry explicitly include purposeful lingering, or represent it only as a contested extension of the term?","What setting-specific operational criteria can distinguish lingering from ordinary passage without inventing a universal duration threshold?","How should intermittent observations establish one recurring episode without encouraging unnecessary identification or tracking?","Which empirical sources can establish how loitering designations vary with setting and perceived participant identity?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-q2380751/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-q2380751/spec.json"],"providers":["Codex"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-09-12T11:01:48Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"not-applicable","interaction.recognition":"not-applicable","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"not-applicable","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-07T10:10:29+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: Wikidata description; 2 live sources; review by codex: pass","interaction.properties":"Plane ACT: no invented physical properties.","interaction.interfaces":"No universal standard or legal classification applies to aimless lingering as such, since any legal classification depends on jurisdiction and additional circumstances.","interaction.recognition":"Lingering can be observed, but the absence of purpose cannot be established from visual cues."},"score":1.0}}