City News
Youth Curfew Proposed
[Note that an updated story on the youth curfew ordinance proposal was posted on August 6, 2008. See the link at the bottom of the story.]
Update, July 9: The City Council voted to support a youth curfew in a 7-0 vote at last night’s council meeting. City staff will draft a youth curfew ordinance and expect to present it for first reading at the July 22 council meeting. If approved, the curfew would not take effect until after a second reading on August 12.
A curfew for anyone under 17 years of age will be considered by the City Council at their regular meeting on July 8. The curfew is being proposed by Pat Berryman, mayor pro tem and District 5 council member.
If the council votes to consider the curfew proposal, they would have to approve an ordinance to enact the curfew at two future meetings.
Berryman has proposed that for anyone under the age of 17, a curfew would begin at 11 p.m. on Sunday through Thursday, and at midnight on Friday and Saturday. A 10 p.m. curfew would be in effect each night for parks in the city.
The proposal lists several exceptions, including situations when a youth is in a car on the interstate, on a parent-directed errand, going to or from work, in an emergency, or with his or her parent or a spouse who is over age 18. Attending or going to or from an official school or religious activity or a recreational event sponsored by the City or a civic organization are situations that are also exempted from the curfew rule. Youths traveling to or from an exempted event must do so “without detour or stop.”
Berryman’s proposal suggests that penalties for violations should be established, but does not specify those penalties.
Cities that have enacted curfews for youths include Austin, Cedar Park, Leander, Round Rock, and Taylor.
The July 8 City Council meeting begins at 6 p.m. at the Council Chamber and Courts Building, located at 101 E. Seventh Street.
[Link to August 6, 2008 update on youth curfew ordinance proposal: http://news.georgetown.org/2008/08/06/youth-curfew-ordinance-on-august-12/]
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No Responses to “Youth Curfew Proposed”
WONDERFUL!…we need one to keep youths safe off the streets, and out of trouble in our neighborhoods late at night.
If the Council votes to enact this ordinance, why not set it for 10 p.m. every night? And taking it a step further, any penalty should hold the parent or guardian responsible.
I agree with Mayor Berryman’s proposed hours and with the exceptions.
However, I don’t understand an age limit of 17; it strikes me as ridiculous and in conflict with existing state law.
In case we’ve forgotten, in the state of Texas, an individual is considered an adult – and can hence be prosecuted as an adult – at age 18. Why complicate the issue? Just because Austin does?
And please address truancy – Austin at least got that right.
Here’s a link to what Austin has in place – it’s not rocket science.
http://austin.about.com/od/governmentcityservices/f/curfews.htm
I can understand a night time curfew, but do we really need a daytime curfew?
We have a lot of private and homeschool organizations that do things during the day when it is not as crowded.
I don’t totally agree with Mayor Berryman.
Why is there nothing in this article about the DAYTIME CURFEW that is being proposed? The News Sun front page article omitted this information as well. Is it some big secret? Are they afraid of opposition?
Some of us parents who do not have their children enrolled in public schools would have a serious problem with being fined $500 and charged with a misdemeanor for taking out children out during the daytime hours.
An update on the youth curfew ordinance was posted to the homepage on August 6, 2008.
Keith Hutchinson, public information officer
I strongly oppose any daytime curfew. I am also very disappointed that the daytime curfew has not been mentioned in media coverage of this topic. I have absolutely no problem with the night curfew, especially as exceptions have been made for work, parent-directed errands, etc. In my opinion, truancy laws are sufficient for daytime concerns. Penalizing parents who follow legal options for private and/or home-schooled education is unnecesary and unjust.
At the very least, a specific exception should be made for home schooled children. Though there are many frustrating things about the various rules and regulations in Austin, our neighbor to the south got that part right.
I believe that this is a sound proposal for the city of georgetown.