By Michael Howell
Juveniles in Stevensville will have to get off the streets a little earlier on the weekends now. The Town Council amended the current curfew ordinance that allows juveniles to be out on the streets and other public places to get them home a little sooner. The existing curfew hour on the weekends was midnight, but that has now been changed to 10 p.m. instead.
Councilor Bill Perrin pointed out that the literature which had been reviewed seemed to suggest that curfews are popular with the public but are actually ineffective in deterring vandalism and other problems.
Police Chief James Marble defended his proposal, saying that there is really no reason for kids to be out that late at night and if there is a reason it would probably be covered by one of the many exceptions that are allowed, such as being accompanied by an adult or coming home from some school sponsored activities.
Marble said that there were no businesses open after 10 p.m. in town and that there were no regular late night activities for kids. He said you have to wonder what the purpose would be for a kid to be out unsupervised after that hour. He said having a curfew would give the police the leverage they need to ask the kids and, if there was no good reason, send them home. He said no citations are ever issued, they simply call the parents to inform them of their child’s whereabouts and ask them to come and get the child.
“It’s a tool to help with safety and security and provide us with the opportunity to make contact,” said Marble. He said he saw no reason for kids to be out at that hour of the night with no purpose. He said it does give them leverage when there are issues.
Councilor Robin Holcomb said that she was satisfied with the current curfew hours. She made a motion to keep the current hours but the motion failed due to lack of a second.
Councilor Bill Perrin then moved, for the sake of discussion, to change the curfew to 10 p.m. on weekends.
Councilor Tim Hunter asked Marble if he thought the change in hours was really necessary and Marble said yes. He said there was no reason for kids to be out later than that without supervision or something to do. He called it an opportunity for mischief.
Asked what he thought about it, Mayor Gene Mim Mack said that from his review of other curfews around the state he was struck by the consistency of the curfew hours which match the hours in the current ordinance. He said that changing the weekend hours as suggested would make the town an exception. He said he thought the current hours were suitable.
Hunter said he would have to defer to the professional advice of the staff on this one, the ones who are out there dealing with things.
The motion to adjust the weekend curfew hours was then approved on a 3-0 vote. Councilor Crews was absent.