The Newport News City Council passed an emergency temporary curfew for unaccompanied minors at City Center after more than 450 teens caused safety concerns at the restaurant, movie theater and walking area over the weekend.
The curfew is from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. on June 10 and every Friday and Saturday until July 5.
“These changes are not about punishing young people,” council member Rob Coleman said later on Facebook. “They are about protecting our youth, supporting parents and ensuring residents, visitors and businesses can safely enjoy City Center.”
In addition to the temporary curfew, the council voted to permanently change its citywide unaccompanied minor curfew to 10 p.m. throughout the week. The curfew used to extend to 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
Council also added a section to the municipal code that allows the chief of police to “regulate, restrict or prohibit any assembly of persons or the movement of persons or vehicles” if there’s an imminent threat of a riot or civil commotion.
During the Tuesday night council meeting, Coleman said the changes were about public safety and were tools for law enforcement to “address matters in a very dynamic fashion.”
There were more than 150 unaccompanied minors in the City Center area on Friday and about 300 on Saturday, according to the ordinance. Several minors, including 14 on Friday, were arrested in connection with curfew violations and other charges such as assault, disorderly conduct and trespassing.
The police department received calls about teens carrying weapons or walking or running into traffic. Several fights had broken out and spread into the surrounding community, according to the ordinance.
Mayor Phillip Jones said the last straw for him was when he saw a social media flyer advertising a “Bring the Smoke” takeover for Wednesday.
“We can’t afford to let that happen in Newport News,” he said. “This is more than just what the mayor wants. All of city council wanted some sort of action.”
Newport News isn’t the only city dealing with teen takeovers, which are loosely organized meetups spread by word of mouth or on social media. The takeovers, which can swell to hundreds of people, sometimes turn violent and tensions can escalate when law enforcement arrives to break things up.
Most cities have responded with stricter curfews. Virginia Beach enacted a 10 p.m. curfew for unaccompanied minors and has established a safety task force.
Research, however, shows that curfews aren’t effective in reducing crime and victimization, Lily Robin, a senior research associate at the Urban Institute, told PBS News Hour.
Jones hopes that teens instead will turn to the city’s programs and spaces, such as its Youth Career Program, Friday Night Nets and recreation sport leagues. He’s planning a youth town hall in the coming weeks to get a better idea about how to support and engage them.
Enforcing the curfew and making the area safer will be a community effort, he said.
“I would encourage everyone,” Jones said, “if you care about the future of your city, know where your kids are at past 10 p.m.”
