New Curfew Rules for Kids Heads to Indy Council

IMPD also announced a new safe space where juveniles found out past curfew can wait for their parents.

INDIANAPOLIS — The City-County Council’s public safety committee took a step Wednesday to tighten juvenile curfew laws by sending a new proposal to the full council.

If the full council approves Proposal No. 232, police could start enforcing curfew for 15- to 17-year-olds at 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays — two hours earlier than the current 1 a.m. cutoff. From Sunday through Thursday, enforcement would begin at 9 p.m. for this age group. For kids 14 and younger, the curfew would move up to 9 p.m. every night, instead of 11 p.m. now.

Here’s a quick look at the new curfew hours if the proposal passes:

Ages 15-17:

Friday and Saturday: 11 p.m. to 5 a.m.

Sunday to Thursday: 9 p.m. to 5 a.m.

Ages 14 and under:

Every night: 9 p.m. to 5 a.m.

The proposal does allow exceptions. Kids can be out during curfew for work, school or religious events, emergencies, supervised nonprofit or government activities, with parental permission, or if traveling out of state.

IMPD also announced a new safe space where juveniles found out past curfew can wait for their parents. At this location, they’ll have access to food and support like mentoring, mental health help, education aid, and job training. If police can’t reach the parents, the child may be taken to the Juvenile Detention Center. But these detentions won’t be treated as arrests or show up on their permanent records.

This move to tighten curfew laws comes after a recent mass shooting downtown that injured five people and killed two juveniles. Several teens were charged with illegal gun possession linked to the shooting.

The full City-County Council will consider the proposal at its next meeting on August 11.

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