As communities across the country increase enforcement of youth curfews, Texas lawmakers have banned the practice.
In June, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law a bill that blocks cities and counties from creating and enforcing youth curfews, except in an emergency. The law goes into effect in September.
Youth advocates have said curfews criminalize normal teen behavior and sometimes target kids who are experiencing homelessness or trying to escape difficult home lives.
In Texas, curfew violations are considered Class C misdemeanors. Martin A. Martinez, youth justice policy advocate at Texas Appleseed, said those citations can land kids in municipal courts meant for adults. Those courts don’t offer the same protections for kids that juvenile courts do, he said, and kids charged with curfew violations could face fines as high as $500.
Paying those fines can be a challenge for low-income families or people experiencing homelessness.
“If (youth are) homeless or unaccompanied, (fines) make it harder for their situation and just set them back even further,” Martinez said.
Alternatives to curfews
In the past year, cities like Oklahoma City, Baltimore and Philadelphia have created, expanded or resumed enforcement of curfews. Many of the city leaders who have embraced curfews said they were adopting the measures to address juvenile crime and youth gun violence.
However, studies show curfews don’t reduce youth crime.
As the use of curfews draws to a close in Texas, what are other strategies communities could use to help prevent juvenile crime?
Martinez suggested communities could instead connect youth with resources to help them.
“This is something juvenile curfew ordinances in general have stifled,” he said. “A lot of times I think cities have become reluctant to think about creative or innovative local policies to really help youth who might be troubled, and they rely on these scare tactics … when we know they’re ineffective.”
[ Read more: Why curfews don’t make kids safer ]
Norma Mercado is the family and social services coordinator for Bastrop Independent School District. Some strategies that could help, she said, are giving kids leadership opportunities and more places where they can spend time if they’re having a bad day or just need somewhere to go.
“Instead of penalizing them, (they could have) a space in the community that they could go to, like a Boys and Girls Club or a rec center that doesn’t cost money, where youth can stay and be safe,” she said.
A new program from the United Way of Tarrant County, the One Second Collaborative, aims to reduce youth gun violence and recidivism in Fort Worth and Tarrant County.
The program plans to use multidisciplinary intervention teams to provide youth and their families with wraparound services. The teams, which will include licensed counselors, will connect kids with resources like mental health screenings or substance use counseling.
Funded with $4.4 million from the city and $1.9 million from the county, the program is in the process of allocating funds to 18 community organizations already working to address the causes of teen gun violence, said Samuel J. Varner, director of the One Second Collaborative.
The program’s 28-member steering committee, which includes the Fort Worth Police Department and Fort Worth Independent School District, is helping guide the collaborative’s efforts as it moves forward.
“We just want to make sure that we invite people from the community to share their thoughts, concerns and feelings, as well as their successes,” Varner said, “because it’s going to take all of us to help our teenagers experience positive outcomes.”
Contact Streetlight editor Mollie Bryant at 405-990-0988 or bryant@streetlightnews.org. Follow her reporting by joining our newsletter.
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