Top police officials had few firm answers Tuesday on enforcing curfews for city youths but said “9 year olds don’t belong in the back seat of a patrol car.”
Questions about youth curfew enforcement arose at Memphis City Hall Tuesday after a weekend argument Downtown left one young woman shot in the leg.
This caught the attention of Memphis City Council member Phillip Spinosa. He wanted to know the city’s curfew policy and wondered if there was a way to hold parents accountable.
Memphis Police Department (MPD) officials said youth aged 16 and younger must be in by 10 p.m. on weekdays and 11 p.m. on weekend nights. Those aged 17 must be in at 11 p.m. on weeknights and midnight on weekend nights. The curfew expires every day at 6 a.m.
MPD Chief C.J. Davis said the agency is actively working with other entities to address the issue of “wandering young people especially in dangerous spaces.” She said MPD is willing to further enforce curfews. But she said new resources were needed to do it right.
“Nine-year-olds don’t belong in the back seat of the patrol car,” Davis said. “ There needs to be some mechanism for us to be able to transport young people who are in places [where] they’re unsafe to a safe place until they’re reunited with their parents.”
Davis said she is working with the juvenile court system to discuss “innovative and new approaches” on youths out after curfew. Council members said that while the courts are responsible for detaining youth, all parties need to work together to find a solution as the warmer months approach.
As for last weekend’s violence on Beale Street, Davis said MPD is working with the Downtown Memphis Commission to monitor streets even beyond Beale Street.
“Sometimes when our young people have nothing to do, they move to the Downtown space, especially as the weather gets warmer,” she told council members.
Davis assured the council that the department has increased visibility and is working on tightening monitoring in the area, and called it a “sensitive issue” when working with young residents.
Officials are looking into ways on how to deal with young people who have weapons, as well as better ways to discover weapons without searching every individual.
Councilwoman Rhonda Logan encouraged the department to work with other entities, including faith leaders, and come together on how to keep the youth and community safe. She stressed the importance of the matter, and requested all parties to act urgently.
“We’re moving too slow,” Logan said. “It’s delicate, but maybe if everybody is in the room together and we pull out the law, and who’s responsible, then we can’t keep passing the buck.”