As schools across North Texas enter Spring Break, the Dallas Police Department is gently reminding parents of the Dallas Juvenile Curfew Ordinance.
The order, implemented in 1994 and renewed every three years since, prohibits juveniles under the age of 17 from mingling in a public place during curfew hours.
According to the ordinance, from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. Sunday through Thursday and 12:01 a.m. to 6 a.m. on Friday and Saturday, minors cannot be out in a public setting.
The curfew rules have a few exceptions, including minors who are:
- Accompanied by a parent or a guardian.
- On an errand directed by the minor’s parent or guardian.
- Engaged in or going to or from an employment activity.
- Involved in an emergency.
- On a sidewalk abutting the minor’s residence.
- In attendance of or traveling to and from an official school or religious activity.
The order serves as a notice warning parents and guardians against knowingly allowing an unaccompanied minor to stay out after curfew, and to business owners against allowing minors to remain on business premises during these times.
If a minor breaches the ordinance, they will be detained by police, appropriately identified, and either released to their parent or guardian or sent to the Letot Center. The center serves as a co-educational facility that provides crisis intervention, emergency shelter, and counseling for runaway youth.
Dallas Councilman Jaime Resendez has previously questioned whether the ordinance is necessary, expressing concern it could negatively affect minors’ impression of police.
“When I would think about it previously, I would think about my experience here in southeast Dallas, and sometimes as a juvenile, I would be out late at night, not necessarily doing anything bad,” said Resendez to the Dallas Observer. “I hated thinking [that] if I came into contact with a Dallas Police Officer … that would be my interaction with them, [that] it would be in a negative light.”
Others maintain that the curfew does its job by reducing overall crime committed by and against juveniles, and improves the relationship between them and police.
Dallas Police Department Deputy Chief Robert Sherwin commented, “The goal of the curfew ordinance was to engage and change the behavior of juveniles in a positive manner. This system works for juveniles. The curfew has given officers a reason to come into contact with youth and has helped decrease the number of juvenile victims and suspects.”
Officers will enforce the rule throughout the year and encourage parents to know their children’s whereabouts at all times.
