Remember the golden rule of childhood WAY back in the day?
“Be home when the streetlights come on.”
No cell phones, no GPS tracking apps, no constant texts. Just the warm, sudden hum of a sodium-vapor bulb overhead telling you that play time was officially over and it was time to race your bike back to the driveway. It was a simple, unspoken contract of trust.
But as Charlotte (and other United States cities and neighborhoods) grows and changes, so does the reality of keeping our kids safe. The article below from the Charlotte Observer hits close to home for all of us living and working in the Queen City. CMPD is proposing some major changes to our local curfew laws in response to “teen takeovers” uptown and around University City.
Take a read at what’s on the table, and let’s talk on the other side.
Charlotte making plans to extend curfew amid ‘teen takeover’ concerns
By Nick Sullivan, Charlotte Observer
Charlotte could extend the hours of its citywide curfew and raise the age limit to include anybody younger than 18 with a proposal from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.
Major cities across the nation are straining to keep up with mass unsupervised gatherings of teenagers, known as “teen takeovers,” that disrupt local business and sometimes turn violent.
The City Council’s safety committee unanimously advanced a proposal that would set a 9 p.m. curfew every night of the week for all minors while keeping some exceptions in place for people traveling to and from work or running errands for parents. The full City Council will next vote on the change.
Charlotte adopted a Youth Protection Ordinance in 1995 that set a tiered curfew. People younger than 13 are currently not allowed in public spaces without a parent or guardian between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. Teens between 13 and 15 have a curfew from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. The new proposal would streamline that curfew under one set time for all ages, including 16- and 17-year-olds.
Chief Estella Patterson told committee members officers have a hard time determining the exact age of juveniles without an ID, which delays the investigation and prolongs police interactions. A blanket curfew would solve that problem.
“If we don’t get a handle on this, the consequences may become fatal,” Patterson said, adding the issue of teen takeovers has become “increasingly disturbing” since schools let out for the summer.
Teens often advertise the gatherings through social media or word of mouth. The gatherings aren’t a problem themselves, according to Jessica Battle, assistant city attorney for CMPD. But they can lead to issues such as traffic disruption, misconduct, assaults or shootings.
Police issued 33 curfew violations from Jan. 1 through July 5 of this year, according to CMPD data. That does not count violators who were charged with other crimes while violating curfew.
One incident in June involved hundreds of teens convening after dark at Romare Bearden Park, where police arrested 23 teenagers and one adult and issued citations to 13 parents.
Another takeover involving more than 300 teens happened on Saturday at the boardwalk in University City, where multiple fights broke out. Police charged nine minors with curfew violations and 10 parents and guardians for contributing. Three other juveniles were arrested on various other charges, such as possessing a firearm, trespassing and obstructing an officer.
Juveniles who violate curfew could be found delinquent by a judge and face penalties. Parents, business owners, or other people 16 years or older who allow minors to break curfew are also on the hook for a violation and could face misdemeanor charges and $500 fees.
Police often only make around 10 arrests when responding to a crowd of several hundred teenagers, Patterson said.
Police first issue a warning, Capt. Jeremiah Blow said.
“We want voluntary compliance, which is, ‘Hey, you can’t be here. You need to leave,’ and a lot of them do leave,” Blow said. “It’s the ones that refuse to leave and don’t follow direction. Then we’ve got to take enforcement action.”
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It’s incredibly easy to read headlines like this, shake our heads, and complain about “kids these days.” But if we dig a little deeper, we must ask ourselves: why is this happening?
As someone who has spent a lifetime using creative play, improv, and theater to bring people together, I know firsthand that teenagers are desperate for connection. They want community, they want excitement, they want a stage, and they want to be seen. When they don’t have positive, structured, and creative outlets to channel that massive, beautiful energy, it spills over into the streets.
Curfews can act as a temporary shield to keep our streets safe and de-escalate tough situations, and I completely respect our city leaders and officers trying to prevent a tragedy. But a curfew is just a pause button.
The real challenge for us as a community is figuring out what we are offering these kids before 9:00 PM. How do we build spaces where they feel heard, valued, and safe to just be teenagers?
Let’s keep looking out for each other, Charlotte. Let’s keep checking in on our neighbors, and most importantly, let’s keep finding ways to say “Yes, and…” to our youth.