PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia City Council on Thursday voted to impose a permanent 10 p.m. curfew for young people under the age of 18 in the city.
The city had enforced the 10 p.m. rule over the summer, moving the curfew from midnight and framing it as a way to keep children safe during an unrelenting gun violence crisis. That legislation, championed by Councilmember Katherine Gilmore Richardson, expired at the end of September.
But the new bill has no end date, meaning it will remain in place indefinitely. The legislation received near unanimous support from Council, and now heads to Mayor Jim Kenney’s desk for final approval before becoming law.
Philadelphia has had a youth curfew in place for decades. But experts who study the rules have said they have little to no impact on crime or victimization rates. And while the 10 p.m. curfew was in place over the summer, more children were shot than during any other summer on record, according to police statistics.
Still, city leaders have said they must try everything to keep the city’s young people safe, and if it saves just one child’s life, it’s worth it.
“I’m not going to apologize for seeking to do all that I can to help our young people,” Gilmore Richardson has said.
If signed by the mayor, the measure would require teenagers 14 to 17 to be home by 10 p.m., and children ages 13 and younger to be home by 9:30. The curfew ends at 6 a.m.
A handful of exceptions are listed, including for children and teenagers accompanied by adults or guardians, and those who have jobs or are attending school or religious activities. Kids hanging outside on their home’s stoop or sidewalk, or “exercising First Amendment rights” like protesting, are also allowed out past curfew.
Philadelphia Police are tasked with enforcing the rule. Officers who pick up children violating the curfew must first try to take them home. If that’s not possible or a guardian can’t be reached, police must take the child to a police district or to one of the city’s new community evening resource centers.
What happens to kids who violate?
There are four resource centers, which are run by neighborhood groups but funded by the city, located in North, Northwest, South, and Southwest Philly. The city set aside $2 million this year for the centers, which are open from 7 p.m. to 2 a.m., offering activities and resources for kids.
Philadelphia’s Department of Human Services, which oversees the centers, said that from January through August, the centers served more than 700 children, though the majority went voluntarily and were not brought in by police after curfew violations.
As of Aug. 1, police had issued more than 1,300 curfew violators this year. According to a department spokesperson, at least 85% of those kids were taken home or picked up by a family member.
The bill also now requires the Police Department to draft a quarterly report on the number of minors who violate the curfew, noting their age, gender, race, location, and whether their guardian was reached. DHS is required to report how many minors used the centers, along with demographic information.
Until last year, children and their parents faced a $250 fine for their first violation of the curfew, then $300 to $500 for subsequent violations. Council removed the penalties last year amid concerns that they disproportionately affected people living in poverty.
In October, Gilmore Richardson had floated reinstating penalties for parents whose children violate the curfew, but such penalties were not included in the final version of the bill.
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