Curfew for kids will be enforced in Newark, New Jersey this summer. Here's when it starts.
NEWARK, N.J. -- The mayor of Newark, New Jersey says the city will enforce its curfew for kids this summer after an uptick in crimes involving suspects under 18.
Starting May 3, no one under 18 will be allowed more than 100 yards away from their home without a guardian between 11 p.m. and 5:30 a.m. on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
"A child at 12 to 13 years old should not be out at 2 o'clock in the morning unaccompanied," said Mayor Ras Baraka.
The curfew, part of the city's Summer Safe Program, will extend to seven days a week once school is out and be enforced by police. There are exceptions for work or community programs.
The curfew was supposed to start April 12, but Baraka delayed it because of "a few questions that I had around logistics," he said.
Officers will brings kids to a "safe haven"
Instead of bringing kids out too late to police precincts, officers and social workers will take them to a safe haven center.
"We will peacefully engage the youth by requesting his or her information, a contact information for someone that we can return them to," said Deputy Mayor LaKeesha Eure.
Violence prevention and trauma recovery teams will follow-up with families within 48 hours to make sure kids are getting resources they need.
"There actually may be kids that we find on the street who have run away, kids who are dealing with issues at their home," said Baraka.
Newark hired 24 youth mentorship organizations and nine therapeutic and clinical service agencies to help run the program.
"We don't want to see our young people who are innocent, those that are not engaged in illegal activity, in fact become criminalized," said Lawrence Hamm, an anti-violence advocate and chairman for the People's Organization for Progress.
There are no fines or penalties for breaking curfew. Baraka said the goal is to get kids home safely and help those who need it most.
