Strickland has questions on curfew enforcement, centers
Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland said there are still details to be worked out and questions to be answered before the city can effectively enforce a 1996 law that sets a curfew for Memphians under 17-years-old.
The Memphis City Council passed a resolution in committee Tuesday requesting the police department enforce the curfew more consistently. The law says people under 17-years-old are to be home between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. Monday through Thursday and 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. Friday through Sunday.
The ordinance allows 18-year-olds to stay out an hour later per the law.
“There’s a lot of details to be worked out,” Strickland said Wednesday. “For instance, how much will [curfew centers] cost? Where do you put it? How do you staff it? And do we have the authority to do it under Tennessee law? Does anyone other than juvenile court have the authority to hold juveniles, frankly, against their will?”
Strickland said he appreciates the sentiment, but also echoed Deputy Chief Sam Hines’ comments about a lack of resources to enforce the curfew or establish centers to take minors to.
Cities such as Philadelphia and Minneapolis, both of which are mentioned in the resolution, have curfew centers for kids that are open all week for 24 hours.
“Actually practically doing it raises some legal and financial questions about whether we can afford it and how we would operate it,” Strickland said.
The mayor did suggest a partnership with Shelby County to bring minors to the Shelby County Juvenile Assessment Center, which is housed in the former Raleigh Library. The center checks off one major box in that it has the legal authority to hold kids.
“The city actually donated the former Raleigh Library and put a couple million dollars into the roof and the facility and gave it tot he county to operate a youth assessment center, which is open, I think, generally in business hours,” Strickland said. “It probably would be better and financially more feasible to open that up over the evening and see if we can have a partnership with the county.”