Dallas City Council Reaches Decision On Curfew For Teenagers
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - A youth curfew will go into effect across Dallas Sunday night.
After weeks of debate, the decision was reached by the city.
Last Wednesday, the Dallas City Council pushed up the juvenile curfew issue, and a vote by one month.
The council heard two plans before voting 10 to five to reinstate the curfew under Councilman Adam McGough's proposal.
"Listening to story after story after story, having a curfew has impacted, improved, and saved kids' lives," said McGough. "I've been begged by school principals at high schools don't take the curfew away."
The plan includes daytime and nighttime curfew hours.
The maximum fine for a citation drops from $500 to $50.
Dallas will also give $500,000 to the city's parks and recreation department for youth services.
Police associations fought for the curfew despite some community opposition.
"I'm just thankful we do have a curfew again," said Mike Mata, the president of the Dallas Police Association. "This has always been about saving kids' lives. It had nothing to do with making them criminals. I think it's they fine they reduced the fine to $50. This is not about making money for the city."
Like the old curfew, children and teenagers under 17 cannot be in public without an adult from 11 p.m. to six a.m. on school nights. It will be from midnight to six a.m. on the weekends and during school hours during the week.
"We're angry and we're upset that the council members today didn't even seem to want to listen to the mounds of research that have been presented to them showing that these ordinances don't work," said Nan Kirkpatrick, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America. "They make people and teens less safe."