FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — A proposed curfew for children under 17 in Fayetteville moved forward on Tuesday night, but not without heated debate at the city council work session.
The city council voted 7-2 to advance the proposed curfew. The curfew will go to the city council meeting for further debate and discussion.
At the heart of the debate was whether the curfew would help reduce youth crime or lead to unwarranted stops, especially of Black and Brown teenagers.
Some council members said this was a good step towards reducing gun violence in Fayetteville,
A few people shared very personal stories about the impact of gun violence on their families. Others asked for data to prove that the curfew would work.
“It almost seems like a half-baked plan because we don’t have to answer all these questions and until we do that, I don’t know how we move forward with it,” Deno Hondros, Council Member, District 9, said.
A 2016 analysis pulled together 12 studies and concluded the pattern of evidence suggests that juvenile curfews are ineffective at reducing crime and victimization.
‘This is a tool. One school to help to alleviate and hopes to alleviate the gun violence,” Courtney Banks-Mclaughlin, Council Member District 8, said.
As for what is happening in Fayetteville, there are still many details to be worked out regarding the curfew ordinance.
Your browser doesn’t support HTML5 video.
For example, the police have yet to speak with the Department of Social Services (DSS) about how children would be held when necessary. The police also do not know what kind of burden this new ordinance will place on their already-stretched resources.
Copyright 2023 by Capitol Broadcasting Company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
