Will Fayetteville enact a curfew on minors? Here's what the Council says
Tension dominated the conversation Tuesday night as the Fayetteville City Council voted to place a citywide curfew for minors on its next meeting agenda.
The proposed curfew, which mirrors a countywide curfew that has been in place since 2015, was introduced by Police Chief Kemberle Braden at the Aug. 29 council meeting after several recent shootings and Police Department data showed a concerning level of juvenile involvement in serious crimes.
Braden told council members last month that at least 460 juveniles were involved in crimes from January to June, with two juveniles charged with murder, eight charged with attempted murder, 25 charged with assaults inflicting serious injury, 11 charged with shooting into occupied property and 11 charged with speeding to elude arrest.
According to a memo to the City Council from Michael Whyte, attorney for the Police Department, the proposed curfew would serve a dual purpose of keeping minors safe and encouraging accountability for their guardians.
“The ‘Youth Protection Ordinance’ is intended to reinforce and promote the role of the parent in raising and guiding children, and promote the health, safety, and welfare of both juveniles and adults by creating an environment offering better protection and security for all concerned,” Whyte wrote.
How would it work?
According to the text of the proposed ordinance, here’s what the curfew would entail:
A curfew of 12 a.m. to 5 a.m. Monday-Friday and 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. Saturdays and Sundays for 16-year-olds and 17-year-olds.
A curfew of 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. for minors under 16.
It would be illegal for any minor with an out-of-school suspension or who “has failed to attend school for any reason during regular school hours” to be unaccompanied by a parent or guardian off school grounds from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on school days.
Parents or guardians could be charged with a misdemeanor if they “knowingly permit” or “by insufficient control allow” a minor in their care to violate the terms of the curfew.
Owners, operators and employees of any establishment could be charged with a misdemeanor if they “knowingly allow” a minor to violate the terms of the curfew on the establishment’s premises.
Anyone 16 or older caught helping someone under 16 violate the terms of the curfew could be charged with a misdemeanor.
Are there any exceptions?
The proposed ordinance states that there are several exceptions to the curfew, including the following:
If the minor is with a parent, guardian or someone 19 or older “authorized by the parent or guardian” to accompany them “for a designated period of time and purpose within an area specified” by the parent or guardian.
If the minor “is on an errand, using a direct route” as instructed by their parent or guardian until 12:30 a.m.
If the minor is in a motor vehicle “with parental consent” traveling through Fayetteville for interstate travel.
If the minor is traveling in a motor vehicle with a parent, guardian or someone 19 or older authorized to accompany them by the parent or guardian for a specific period of time and purpose.
If the minor is working or traveling to or from their job.
If the minor is “reacting or responding to an emergency.”
If the minor is directly going to or traveling from “an official school, religious, or recreational activity that is supervised by adults and sponsored by a public or private school, the City or other governmental entity, a civic organization, or another similar entity that accepts responsibility” for the minor.
If the minor is exercising their First Amendment rights.
If the minor is married or emancipated.
According to the proposed ordinance, minors and their parents can also submit an application to the police chief for a special permit requesting an exemption for a specific occasion. If the chief or his designee rejects the application, the parent or guardian has the right to appeal within 30 days to a Cumberland County District Court judge, the ordinance states.
The right move for Fayetteville?
At Tuesday’s work session, some council members questioned if the curfew would do more harm than good to juveniles and their families.
“It almost seems like a half-baked plan,” Councilman Deno Hondros said, noting that Braden and Whyte could not provide answers to questions like where minors caught out past curfew would stay while officers attempt to contact their parents.
Hondros later compared the curfew to “communist Russia or Nazi Germany,” saying he worried it would escalate conflict between residents and police.
Councilman Mario Benavente appeared visibly frustrated at some of Braden and Whyte’s responses, shaking his head throughout the lengthy discussion of the curfew.
“How exactly are we supposed to trust that you’re gonna suddenly fairly apply this law when we already stop Black drivers at twice the rate of white drivers, that we search Black drivers at four times the rate of white drivers?” Benavente questioned. “Suddenly, this is the time that you guys are gonna do things the right way?”
Braden was quick to defend the department.
“I think we’re making an unfair assumption that we aren’t doing things correctly or fairly,” he replied.
When asked by Benavente if the department had reached out to the Department of Social Services or the Department of Juvenile Justice or had found any studies showing evidence that such curfews work, Whyte and Braden said they had not.
Still, the majority of the council backed the curfew.
Councilwoman Courtney Banks-McLaughlin grew emotional as she voiced her support for the ordinance, noting that she lost her daughter, Coryonna Young, to gun violence last October.
“We may face some hiccups, but it’s a start. As a mother who lost her daughter — for a mother who lost her child, I wouldn’t wish this on nobody,” Banks-McLaughlin said, breaking down into tears and continuing to quietly cry for several minutes as the discussion wore on.
Councilwoman Shakeyla Ingram said she hoped the curfew would save lives.
“I don’t want to see more people be impacted by the gun violence and the murders,” she said.
The council voted 7-2 to address the curfew ordinance at their next meeting, with Councilmen Hondros and Benavente voting in opposition. Mayor Mitch Colvin left the meeting before the vote due to a family emergency, Councilwoman Kathy Jensen said.
Government watchdog reporter Lexi Solomon can be reached at ABSolomon@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Fayetteville City Council moves forward with curfew for minors
