Tampa is considering a youth curfew. Here’s what we know so far.

TAMPA — Days after two people, including a 14-year-old boy, were fatally shot in Tampa’s historic Ybor City neighborhood last October, Mayor Jane Castor began calling for a juvenile curfew to help keep kids out of harm’s way.

Now, she is indifferent to the idea, saying the decision is in the hands of the public and the Tampa City Council, which has been mulling a citywide curfew for months, with a proposal up for second reading Jan. 25.

“She is Switzerland,” city spokesperson Adam Smith said.

The proposal comes amid a body of research casting doubts on the claims that juvenile curfews are an effective crime deterrent in other cities, as well as community concerns that the restrictions risk exacerbating tensions between police and parts of the community.

And uncertainties about how the policy will be implemented remain. The Tampa Bay Times sent a list of questions to the police department on everything from where officers will focus their enforcement to clarifying when minors will be taken into custody. A spokesperson said, “It would be premature to answer these questions before the ordinance is passed.”

Here’s what we know so far.

What are the rules of the curfew?

Kids under 16 may not “stay unnecessarily” in public places, such as streets and parks, or private businesses and places of entertainment from Sunday through Thursday from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m., and on the weekends and holidays midnight through 6 a.m.

A public place also means the common areas of schools, hospitals, apartment houses, office buildings, transportation facilities and shops, according to the proposal.

Minors who have been suspended or expelled from school may not be in a public place during the hours of 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. during the school day. Council member Lynn Hurtak has criticized this as “scope creep.”

The proposal covers the entire city.

What happens if you break the curfew?

First violations will result in a written warning. Subsequent violations are a civil infraction and carry a fine of $50 each, according to the proposal.

If a minor is taken into custody, they will be transported to either a police station or a facility operated by a religious, charitable or civic organization conducting a “curfew program” in cooperation with police.

Will all minors found to be violating the curfew be taken into custody? During transportation, will minors be handcuffed? Has the city compiled a list of organizations that will be conducting the curfew program?

The Times put these questions to the Tampa Police Department. A spokesperson said it was “premature” to answer them before the proposal is passed.

If law enforcement is not able to contact the minor’s parent within two hours after taking them into custody, or if the parent refuses to pick up the child, police may transport them home.

Will parents face consequences, too?

Yes. Parents and legal guardians who knowingly allow children to violate the curfew will receive a written warning at first. They will be guilty of a civil infraction and receive a $50 fine for each subsequent violation.

How will the curfew be enforced?

Uncertainty remains. City Attorney Andrea Zelman has said police will focus on education and deterrence.

“Enforcement is a last resort,” she told the City Council last month.

When asked by the Times if the police department will focus enforcement in specific areas of the city, a spokesperson declined to immediately respond.

What about kids travelling from work?

The proposed curfew includes a slate of exceptions. The rules will not apply to children:

•Accompanied by parents or by another adult “authorized by the minor’s parent to have custody of the minor.”

•Involved in an emergency, such as a natural disaster or car crash.

•Traveling to or from work.

•Returning directly home from a school-sponsored, civic or religious event.

•Attending an organized event held at a theme park.

•Exercising their First Amendment rights.

•Engaging in interstate travel with the consent of their parent or guardian.

The proposal also allows children to be on the sidewalk next to their home or their next door neighbor’s with their permission.

Hasn’t Tampa had one of these before?

Tampa has a long, on-again, off-again history with curfews for minors.

The current proposal repeals an unenforced law already on the books banning those younger than 18 from Ybor City after 11 p.m. on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

In 2004, the Florida Supreme Court struck down a different citywide curfew as too harsh and sweeping. That Tampa curfew, unlike the current proposal, imposed criminal penalties.

Do curfews work?

Dozens of cities across the U.S. have youth curfews in place. Results of enforcement are unclear, with scant evidence showing the tool reduces crime.

In summer 2022, Philadelphia imposed a 10 p.m. curfew on residents under the age of 18, yet the city saw a record number of children shot during the enforcement period, according to reporting by The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Prince George’s County in Maryland, meanwhile, instituted one month of curfew enforcement on Labor Day of 2022, later extending the action for the remainder of the year. The Washington Post reported that the county’s initial stretch of curfew enforcement yielded “mixed results.”

A 2015 study by professors at Purdue University and the University of Virginia looked at the impact of youth curfews on gun violence in Washington, D.C., and found the effect on public safety was “ambiguous.”

Want to have your say?

City officials are hosting a discussion on the proposed curfew Tuesday, Jan. 16, at 7 p.m. at Howard Blake High School, 1701 N. Boulevard, Tampa. Register at: Tampa.Gov/Register.

The City Council has a final reading of the proposal scheduled Jan. 25.