Youth curfew to start on February 1st in Cambridge
CAMBRIDGE, Md. – Starting February 1st, children 15 years old and younger must be off the streets of Cambridge by 10 pm Sunday through Thursday, and by 11 pm Friday and Saturday. Cambridge City Commissioners approved the measure 4-1 Monday night.
How Enforcement Works
The citywide curfew won’t just be targeted to certain areas, says Cambridge Police Chief Justin Todd.
“We’re not going to be focusing on one area or enforcing it in one area. Certainly, where there is higher crime, that has us in those areas more,” said Chief Todd. “For example, if we get a bunch of phone calls about cars being broken into in a certain area of Cambridge; if we’re out patrolling that area and see a group of juveniles, that gives us the opportunity to engage the juvenile.”
Multiple violations could lead to follow-up visits from police or the Department of Social Services, or fines. However, Chief Todd says first encounters will be less severe.
“If the child’s not in danger and there’s no criminal act occurring, it’s just a simple field interview with the child, a written warning will be given, at which time they’ll go home,” said Chief Todd. “That will allow us to gather the data, and also hopefully help educate the parents and the juvenile of what’s going on, and what the penalties are if this continues.”
Gathering Data
Chief Todd stresses that the goal of the curfew is not to punish children and their parents; rather, it’s an effort to gather data and information.
“Our goal here is to educate the child and make for a safer environment, both on the streets of Cambridge, and also in the homes, as well,” said Chief Todd. “If anything comes out of this whole pilot curfew, we’ve had a chance to both engage the children and the community. There’s mixed reviews, obviously, and we understand that. We’re working together to make it the best possible scenario we can for everyone.”
The key questions: Why are kids out on the street after dark? What leads to them taking part in criminal activity? And, what kind of resources can be gathered to prevent that?
Mayor’s Stance
Mayor Rideout, a former Virginia juvenile court judge, has previously been outspoken on his stance against a curfew. He still holds some reservations; namely, how violations might hold up in court, and if the ordinance will actually help the community.
“I think we should have done that information gathering first to see what the real need was, where the need was, and look at the resources that could be, and should be, available in the community, in order to develop a comprehensive ordinance,” said Mayor Rideout. “From my experience on the bench, these kinds of cases are the most difficult cases to dig down into and find a solution for. It’s not just, let’s find mom and dad and that will solve the problem. That won’t solve the problem.”
However, Mayor Rideout says he now sees it as an opportunity to delve into community issues, and find solutions.
“It really created a conversation here that we were not having before,” said Mayor Steve Rideout. “Having brought this forward, I’m seeing in the community some agencies start to take some action to be responsive to not only this need, but other needs of children in the community.”
And, as the curfew goes into effect, the mayor says work on finding solutions will be happening behind the scenes.
“On the local management board, Nancy Shockley is pulling together a community resource group that would start to look at not only these curfew issues, but truancy issues, and other behavioral issues,” said Mayor Rideout.
Looking Ahead
Chief Todd says his department will be getting the community ready to comply before the curfew starts. “We will have flyers and additional information going out to the families and the residents of the city before this goes into effect,” he said.
The curfew is set to expire on June 30th. Mayor Rideout says City Commissioners will have the option of renewing it at that time. Meanwhile, Mayor Rideout says the Eastern Shore Delegation is considering solutions they can put in place at the state level.
“This issue, apparently, is one that is not only in Cambridge, but in other communities; Easton, Salisbury, and elsewhere,” said Mayor Rideout. “It’s not just a Cambridge issue; it’s an Eastern Shore issue, it’s a state of Maryland issue, and quite frankly, it’s a United States issue.”
