Cambridge Discusses Extending Curfew

(CAMBRIDGE, Md) – The City of Cambridge is looking in to extending an ordinance they originally passed years ago.

The city started discussing an extension to a juvenile curfew. It’s something they originally enacted in 2023 and this first reading during Monday night’s city council meeting would extend it for another year.

Cambridge Police Chief, Justin Todd says they enacted this curfew a few years ago in response to an increase in gun violence and homicides in 2022.

Since the curfew went into effect in 2023, they’re averaging around 16 citations for kids out past curfew a year.

And I got a chance to ask Chief Todd on how the curfew has been able to help Cambridge kids stay out of trouble.

Cambridge Police Chief Justin Todd says, “We found that, come that time of evening, the children are either under way inside or they’re inside. It’s a small number that violate that curfew that we need to work with and hone in on.”

According to Chief Todd. the purpose of this curfew is not to issue citations to kids or their families.

The goal is to try and get those who are violating curfew and their families in touch with the resources needed to keep them on the right track.

“I believe the teen court that Cambridge Police Department has established with the help of juvenile services, I believe it can be a benefit throughout the next year to really reach out to children even more. And I’m looking forward to see how that progress works,” says Chief Todd.

I should stress that the proposed extension to the curfew was only in a first reading during Monday night’s Cambridge City Council meeting.

City leaders will discuss this extension again down the road.