Petersburg moves its curfew for minors forward one hour, eyes to make it even earlier in the future

PETERSBURG — Children and teenagers now have to be home an hour earlier. City Council voted to adjust the curfew for minors by one hour, the maximum allowed under the current city code. Petersburg will also enquire with the state about extending its curfew even earlier into the evening, which includes an adjustment the the language around who a child can accompany after curfew hours.

Kids now have to be home at 10 p.m., rather than the 11 p.m. deadline approved initially. Police Chief Travis Christian said that he would like to see the curfew ultimately moved to 8 p.m. but that it would require a change to local laws.

The curfew was first enacted on April 26 after a weekend where seven people, including three children, were shot across three incidents. Shootings have been drawing more attention than usual over the past few months. Just last week, there were four straight days of shootings with six total victims and the numbers are continuing to rise.

More: Petersburg chief is asking City Council to look at increasing curfew hours for city youth

“The intent in the change for this curfew is not to punish our kids,” Christian said. “It is merely to make our parents responsible for the whereabouts of their children.”

Christian also said he is seeking to push the start time earlier for a brief period, mainly through the summer months when gun violence is usually at its peak.

The current state code only allows localities to adopt a curfew between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 p.m. It would take some type of special allowance from the state for a curfew to be extended forward to 8 p.m. City Council’s vote instructed the city attorney to consult with the state on any options to have it pushed earlier.

Councilors were in total support of having the curfew moved earlier.

A third part of the vote would amend some existing language in the city code. If changed, it would affect what person a minor is allowed to be out with past curfew.

The current ordinance states that it is illegal for a person under the age of 18 to be out past curfew unless accompanied by a parent, guardian, or “other adult person having the care and custody of such person.”

The police chief said that final piece of the law makes it hard to enforce a curfew when minors are accompanied by young adults.

“What we’ve found is when you put that ‘responsible adult’ in place, we’re finding an 18 or 19-year-old brother or cousin that’s claiming to be responsible for that juvenile kid at that time,” Christian said. “We have had issues with a responsible adult being that 18, 19-year-old brother.”

Ward 4 Councilor Charlie Cuthbert advocated for eliminating that “other adult person” language from the ordinance.

Wilson-Smith said it would be a mistake to take that language out because it would burden working families who have no choice but to leave older siblings or cousins in charge of younger ones.

“We’re not paying attention to the community, what’s happening in the community,” she said. “They might be with their big brother, they might be with their big sister. They might be with their aunt who’s only 19 or 20 years old. And we have to give respect to that.”

Ward 2 Councilor Darrin Hill said he thought it was best to leave a decision on the matter up to the city attorney and police chief because they know best who should or should not be on the streets at night.

Section 74-1 does allow for some leeway. Minors are allowed to attend school events, groups like boy scouts and girl scouts or places of religious worship after hours. Minors on “emergency errands” or “legitimate business” should have signed note from their parent or guardian.

The law says that anyone found violating the curfew will be issued a summons to the juvenile and domestic relations district court. The officer involved will also issue that person to return to their home. If the juvenile refuses, the officer can bring that person to their home “should he deem such advisable.”

Under the ordinance, if someone refuses to give their name and address the officer can detain them at the police headquarters until a date with the court.

You can reach Sean Jones at sjones@progress-index.com. Follow him at @SeanJones_PI. Follow The Progress-Index on Twitter at @ProgressIndex.

This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: Petersburg curfew for minors moved forward one hour