The Watch With Will Kennedy: Juvenile Summer Curfew

June 24, 2015

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CHARLOTTE, NC — School is out, and that means more free time for Charlotte teens. But there are limits to where and when juveniles can hang out in the city. CMPD is reminding teens and their parents about a city ordinance that sets a curfew for kids.

“There has been a lot of them that get into trouble. On the actual buses, they’re trying to pick up fights,” said Mariajose Hidalgo of Northeast Charlotte.

You may not know it, but Charlotte has a youth protection ordinance, aiming to keep teens out of trouble. The ordinance has been around since 1995, but was changed in 2011, establishing curfews of 10 pm for kids 12 and under and 11 pm for kids 13-15. That means those teens cannot be in a public places or businesses, like malls and movie theaters, unless they are accompanied by a parent, guardian or responsible adult over the age of 21.

“You can’t have a 13-year-old hanging out with their 18-year-old friend and consider that as a parent. It has to be a legal parent of guardian,” said CMPD Officer Chris Kopp.

The stretch of Uptown near the Epicentre is one of the places that the Charlotte Youth Protection Ordinance is geared towards: where you have light rail and buses bringing the kids down to the Epicentre, where the kids like to congregate.

“I get out of work every night and there’s large groups of them hanging around. Loosely patrolled, but yeah, they’re around,” said Charlotte resident Sebastian Emory.

The ordinance is open to officer discretion, and some say has not been enforced enough in recent years.

“If there’s a curfew, I don’t know if they actually respect the curfew, because I’ve been out later at around 10, 11 o’clock and they’re seen out at that time,” said Hidalgo.

In 2013 there were 64 juveniles arrested. Only 33 were cited in 2014. There have been 22 arrested so far this year. Parents are on the hook if they knowingly let their child stay out during restricted hours.

“If a juvenile is arrested for this ordinance, ultimately their parents are going to be responsible for them having their juveniles attend court through the entire court process,” said Officer Kopp.

Business owners could also be in violation is they let teens stay after hours. Kids who violate the ordinance can be adjudicated as delinquents. It’s the adults violating the ordinance who are guilty of a misdemeanor, requiring mandatory court.