City Councilmember Katherine Gilmore Richardson Introduces Bill To Amend Philadelphia's Minor Curfew Law
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The calls for change are growing louder in the wake of the South Street mass shooting. Philadelphia City Council is taking action with a proposal to get young people off the street late at night.
The bill was introduced Thursday and would last throughout the summer, but some say the problem is enforcement.
It's a proposed solution to an ongoing problem.
"Would it quell all of the unfortunate circumstances? Probably not, but you have to take some sort of action," one man said.
Should the city change the curfew for teens 16 and up from midnight to 10 p.m.?
"It should be 11 o'clock because 10 o'clock is too early," a man said.
Philadelphia Councilmember Katherine Gilmore Richardson proposed the bill amending the city's curfew law.
It would expire Sept. 29, 2022, and remain the same for 14 to 15-year-olds, and those under 13.
"We have too many young people out at late hours and we want to make sure that police are able to adequately enforce the curfew laws," Gilmore Richardson said.
Gilmore Richardson says the teens would either be taken home, to a community evening resource center, or to a police district.
And that this idea isn't new. The city implemented something similar in 2011 when then-mayor Michael Nutter worked to crack down on mob violence.
"We must get young people off the streets. We are seeing young people involved in crime, criminal incidents, shootings, in murders, younger and younger in the city of Philadelphia," Gilmore Richardson said.
The measure is gaining new traction after a mass shooting on South Street left three dead and 12 others injured. Many of the victims and at least one of the suspects were teenagers.
"What effect will that have? What's the research? What's the data?" a woman asked.
While some residents question the effectiveness of a curfew, Mayor Jim Kenney is questioning its enforcement.
"I don't think the residents around South Street would be appreciative -- or any neighbor would be appreciative -- of officers leaving their post, leaving their patrol in order to accompany minors to a curfew center," Kenney said.
With the police department already down officers, others feel the rules should come from home.
"It's for the parents to make that decision. You know, know where their kids are at all times," a man said.
Some say teens just need an outlet, somewhere to go. Gilmore Richardson says that's what the community resource centers are for.