Turner: Drop daytime curfew
Reducing fines urged for teens, but mayor wants to keep law
Mayor Sylvester Turner said Wednesday he will ask City Council to halt enforcement of Houston’s daytime curfew and cut fines for nighttime violations to as low as $50.
For now, the city's curfew ordinance makes it a crime for minors under 17 to be in public between 9 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. weekdays, from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. Sunday through Thursday, and from midnight to 6 a.m. Friday and Saturday. The current maximum fine under the city’s curfew ordinance is $500. Only children between 10 and 16 can be cited for violations.
The mayor stopped short of calling for a fully decriminalized curfew, however, after criminal justice advocates pressed him to do so during a public hearing Wednesday before the council.
Many of the advocates, representing organizations such as Texas Appleseed, encouraged Turner and council members to remove the fines or scrap the curfew.
If the ordinance is not decriminalized, it becomes a burden on people who do not own cars but must show up in court, said Antonio Sangueza Jr., assistant director of youth initiatives at the Earl Carl Institute for Legal and Social
Policy at Texas Southern University.
The curfew also deters children and teenagers from approaching police when they need help, Sangueza contended, adding that he does not believe the ordinance protects children, as some supporters argue.
“In fact, it makes them more likely to end up in the criminal justice system cycle and makes them more likely to end up dropping out,” he told council members.
A few advocates urged Houston police to gather more accurate demographic data on the citations it issues. The department breaks down citations by race, but only includes the categories of white, black, Asian and “unknown,” folding citations given to Hispanic minors into the “white” category.
Willie Dennis, a council candidate and member of the hip hop group Geto Boys, told council members they should let the ordinance expire. He also suggested creating a “working group” to examine the root causes of curfew violations.
“I was one of those kids who worked late hours,” Dennis said. “I always came home after curfew hours. I didn’t have the luxury to quit working. I didn’t have the luxury to pay a fine, because my family relied on my income.”
Minors accompanied by a parent, and traveling to and from work or school, are exempted from the city’s curfew.
Council members offered mixed reactions to the testimony, with some appearing skeptical of the idea of abolishing the curfew. A few backed the idea of lowering maximum fines, even if teenagers typically are fined much less than $500.
“I think there are things that we can do, and I think we’re acknowledging some of these things and the importance of tweaking what’s before us today,” At-Large Councilman David Robinson said.
The remarks came during City Council’s second public hearing on the curfew ordinance. State law requires cities to consider renewing, modifying or abolishing their curfews every three years.
In response, Turner and police officials said the city often charges fines well below the $500 maximum and issues far fewer citations today than it did in the
1990s, when Houston began enforcing a curfew. The city issued 137 citations in 2018, down from a peak of more than 14,000 in 1996, according to Houston Police Department data.
Turner floated $50 as a potential maximum penalty, though he stressed that amount is subject to change. He also suggested the daytime curfew may conflict with state law and is not necessary.
He made clear, however, that he does not want to entirely decriminalize the curfew or get rid of it, contending police still need a mechanism to get recalcitrant teenagers off the street.
“There may be circumstances, for example, that take place late at night ... where we do need to disperse people, and they may say no,” Turner said. “And if you totally defang the ordinance, and the police don’t have the authority to tell people to move or leave or go home, then you’ve kind of worked against these teens’ interests.”
If cited for an ordinance violation, Turner said, the teenagers likely would be sent to “teen court,” where defendants are prosecuted and defended by teens working with professionals. Municipal court judges preside over the court, though teen jurors hear the cases and decide punishment, which can include community service or serving on future teen court juries.
“We’re trying to find the best balance that will protect these teens and at the same time protect public safety, as well,” Turner said.
The new proposed curfew ordinance may automatically expunge the violation from teenagers’ criminal records once they become adults, the mayor said. A law passed by the Legislature in 2017 now makes it far less expensive to expunge Class C misdemeanors.
Instead of referring the cases to Harris County district courts, which charge a $247 filing fee, the law allows defendants to request expungement in municipal courts, which charge a maximum fee of $100. The assessed fee typically is much lower, city officials said.
Meanwhile, Turner said he would continue to meet with advocacy groups and council members to craft a new ordinance, which he said he intends to bring before council within the next 30 days.