Youth curfew goes into effect

Police will take kids home, not to city-run centers

Baltimore officials said they began enforcing the city’s summer curfew for youths Friday night — but this year the mayor’s office asked police to drop off kids at home, rather than taking them to city-run centers.

Under city law, children 13 and under must be inside from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m., while children ages14 to16 have an11p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew.

After a child is dropped off at home, city workers will visit the house to offer support services, officials said.

“We want to address the needs of these families,” said Ebony Wilder, a spokeswoman for the mayor’s Office of Human Services. “There is a curfew law, but this is a different approach to executing it.”

Police will take children who are unable to provide their home address or the name of a guardian to the Rita Church Community Center in East Baltimore or the Lillian Jones Recreation Center in West Baltimore, officials said. If a guardian can’t be identified, youths will be referred to the Baltimore City Department of Social Services.

The mayor’s office said it was keeping nine recreation centers open for evening hours throughout the summer, including Rita Church and Lillian Jones.

Terry Hickey, who is director of the mayor’s Office of Human Services, said the city wants to stress services over a punitive approach to enforcing the curfew.

“Our methodology here is to be helpful for parents,” Hickey said. “We recognize a kid is going to be outside sometimes at night.”

He said police were transporting only a small number of kids to the curfew centers, and that it made more sense for city workers to follow up with families at home.

“Why don’t we go to the families and figure out what the need is?” he asked. “If a kid is outside because it’s hot and the electricity is off, we can connect them to an energy assistance program.”

The curfew is in effect from Friday through Aug. 26.

In 2014, the City Council passed an updated curfew law forcing kids off the streets as early as 9 p.m. despite objections that it would place too much stress on the Police Department and lead to conflicts between youths and officers. The legislation increased penalties to $500, though they could be waived if parents and children attend counseling sessions provided by the city.

City Councilman Brandon Scott sponsored the 2014 legislation because, he argued, it would help keep kids safe at night. He noted that his bill stripped criminal penalties from the existing law and that the fine has never been enforced. Scott said he thought the mayor is using the right approach.

He said he was glad to hear recreation centers will continue to be open during the evening. “As long as they’re connecting kids to services,” he said, “I think that’s a good thing.”

The city has had a youth curfew on the books for about 20 years, although it hasn’t always been enforced.