Indianapolis City-County Council Approves Curfew Changes
INDIANAPOLIS — Indianapolis City-County Council has approved new curfew hours for kids for the next 120 days.
The new curfew hours go into effect immediately following passage at the council meeting Monday night.
A call for a new curfew from council members was made following the recent violence in and around downtown involving teenagers, including the mass shooting over the 4th of July holiday weekend where two teenagers were killed, five others were injured and multiple others were arrested and charged.
As part of the new curfew, children 14 and under are not allowed out after 9 p.m. Those who are 15 are 16 have curfew hours of 9 p.m. on weekdays and 11 p.m. on weekends. The curfew does exclude 17-year-olds.
“These updates are about keeping our young people safe and our neighborhoods secure,” said Councilor Leroy Robinson, chair of the Public Safety and Criminal Justice Committee.
Council also introduced a new measure to penalize parents of kids who break curfew rules. A written notice would be handed out for the first offense, followed by a $500 fine for a second offense and a $1,500 fine for subsequent offenses.
“What we’re proposing is certainly that the parents know this is actually coming, they don’t get this citation violation on the first time,” said Council Minority Leader Michael-Paul Hart.
The fine proposal is expected to be voted on sometime in the coming weeks.
“We don’t want rush into something that deals with public safety or our children,” Council President Vop Osoli said following Monday night’s meeting. “What we do do needs to be thoughtful and considered.”
