Youth curfew began Friday night in Baltimore City and continued throughout the weekend without incident.
“Baltimore’s first weekend under the curfew ordinance was by all accounts a complete success,” wrote Mayor Brandon Scott, a Democrat, in a statement to WYPR.
Officials reported that there was no need to transport any young people to connection centers. Police reported no issues with large crowds or altercations between young people and curfew enforcement officials.
Under Baltimore’s newly enforced curfew, children ages 14-16 must be off the streets by 11pm and children under 13 must be home by nine. After those hours, youth can go home or to a city run youth connection center where they can get food, entertainment, and wrap around services while they wait for a parent.
The public learned last week that the curfew would not be enforced by police officers but by trained civilian staff who could offer children transportation to their home or connection center if they wanted– young people cannot actually be arrested for violating curfew. If police encounter youths who are suspected to be in curfew violation, they are to turn on their body-worn cameras, give instructions to disperse, and call for civilian curfew enforcement staff to assist.
While staff did not have to transport any children this past weekend, the Mayor’s office did confirm that youth connection centers did see traffic from both young people and families looking for more information and resources.
The summer youth curfew, along with the B’More Lit programming, a series of parties and activities geared towards engaging young people, are part of Mayor Scott’s holistic strategy to reduce violence among young people. Scott announced the reinforcement of the city’s longstanding youth curfew in April after several high-profile incidents of gun violence involving children and teenagers, including an Easter weekend shooting.
There were no youth-involved homicides or non-fatal shootings over the long Memorial Day weekend.
The mayor’s curfew plan has been highly contentious, with many worried that it could lead to more over-policing and youth incarceration. Baltimore’s curfew is considered to be one of the strictest in the country. A 2016 report by the Campbell Collective, a non-profit dedicated to reviewing public policy programs, youth curfew programs are “ineffective at reducing crime and victimization.”
For now, the mayor is calling the curfew a strategy that has helped “keep young people and our community safe” but that his office will evaluate our approach and adapt, if necessary, as the summer progresses.”
