City council keeps kids off the streets

We're sure glad that City Council isn't our mom - they're strict. Yesterday, the council decided in an 11-3 vote that children 16 and under must be off the streets by 11 pm on weeknights. The previous curfew was midnight, which still applies to Fridays and Saturdays. There are a number of exceptions, including children who are accompanied by a parent or participating in school or church-sponsored events. Those delinquents who violate the rule will be charged a $173 fine, but are also given the option of community service, which keeps the misdemeanor off their records - probably a good idea if you're applying to college.

The Houston Police Department had pushed for an earlier curfew to reduce juvenile crime. We couldn't find any statistics on crimes that are perpetrated by or against juveniles between 11 and 12 pm, although we did find a very thorough 1995 survey about youth curfews. At this time, Houston's curfew was midnight across the board. Mayor White took a very folksy approach to the issue:

On school nights, you should be at home asleep and doing your schoolwork. Unless you're working or working on some sort of school project, you don't need to be running around on the streets after 11 o'clock.

Many parents who talked to the Chronicle agreed. Opponents of the new curfew included Michael Berry, Ada Edwards, and Addie Wiseman. Berry believed that the city had "taken over the role of parents" by enacting this rule, while Edwards said she doubted this would deter crime. Wiseman was worried about the message this ordinance sends to Houston's youth, arguing that "we’re saying to kids, just by virtue of them being out in public, we’re going to assume they’re up to no good." Concerns were also voiced over whether or not HPD has the means to rigorously enforce this stricter rule.