'Safe places': Cincinnati city leaders considering 'curfew centers' to fight youth crime

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4 days ago

Cincinnati City Council in August will consider stricter enforcement of the city's curfew for youth as a way to respond to concerns about crime in the city.
As part of that enforcement, the city may create "curfew centers" where the city could take minors who are out too late. They would stay there until their parents could come and get them.
Mayor Aftab Pureval on July 23 called city council members back from their summer recess for a two-and-a-half-hour special meeting to talk about the curfew and other measures to address crime.
The curfew is not about arresting children, council members stressed throughout the lengthy meeting.
"What we want to tell the public, we're not trying to arrest as many kids as we can," said Councilwoman Victoria Parks. "We want to keep them safe. We don't want them out at 3 o'clock when someone might just shoot at them.'
What we know about the curfew proposal
Details on exactly how the city would change the curfew ordinance, where these curfew centers would be and who would operate them were not released at the special meeting. City Manager Sheryl Long said they're still working on a formal proposal the administration will present to council in August.
Cincinnati Public School students return to school on Aug. 20.
The city already has a curfew for people under 16 after 10 p.m. and after midnight for ages 16 to 18, meaning that youth cannot be unaccompanied in public after those hours. Long said they're looking at ways to make the curfew easier to enforce.
The proposed curfew centers wouldn't be at recreation centers, Long said, since she doesn't want children to have a negative association with them.
Long said the goal is to have a safe haven for youth that police encounter after the current curfew. She said she has some organizations in mind for the city to partner with to staff the curfew centers but didn't want to reveal them at the meeting.
"Our goal is to get these kids in safe places," Long said. "That is what the overall goal is of the curfew."
Will the curfew be enforced fairly?
City council peppered Long and Cincinnati Police Chief Teresa Theetge with questions on the curfew and how to address crime. When asked whether children in violation of the curfew would be charged with a crime, Long said she didn't have the answer to that yet and is working with the legal department.
Vice Mayor Jan-Michele Lemon Kearney said when the curfew has been enforced in the past, residents have complained that it hasn't been enforced evenly in all neighborhoods.
"If we do it, we'll have to do it consistently and fairly across all neighborhoods," she said.
Enquirer review found few curfew charges
Enforcing the current curfew is difficult, city officials have said.
An Enquirer review of 25 years of curfew violations in Hamilton County, including Cincinnati, has found that there has been a steady decline in the number of youth referred to the juvenile court for curfew violations since 2000.
The number of juveniles referred to juvenile court peaked in 2000 with 619 violations and has steadily declined ever since. In 2024, there were 79 juveniles cited for curfew violations across the county.
Will the curfew work?
The police chief said they're compiling neighborhood data on crime committed by the youth. She didn't have any specific numbers to present on July 23.
"There are some specific neighborhoods in our city where the youth disorder is occurring after current curfew hours," Theetge said during the meeting.
She said they're also looking to other cities, including Tulsa and Indianapolis, on how they enforce their curfews.
At the end of the meeting, city council unanimously passed an ordinance directing the administration to look at enforcement of the curfew and increasing police visibility.
"To put it simply, this motion is trying to save kids, period," Pureval said. "And the curfew is an important tool in trying to do that."
More: City Council will discuss curfew enforcement, other restrictions for youth to deter crime
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati city leaders weigh 'curfew centers' for youth out late