Newark Is Enforcing Night Curfew For Minors

There will be a new enforcer for Newark’s 11 p.m. curfew for minors… the city’s houses of worship.

It’s no secret that the city has a curfew for people under the age of 18. The ordinance dates back to 1943, when World War II-era families commonly had unsupervised children due to the war. Since then, it’s been technically illegal for people under the age of 18 to be more than 100 yards from their homes between 11 p.m. and 5:30 a.m.

Newark City Ordinance 20:2-4 makes exceptions for:

• Minors accompanied by his or her parent, guardian or other adult person having care of custody
• Minors who are on an emergency errand required to save a person’s life
• Minors who are traveling to and from work, extracurricular school activities, activities sponsored by religious or community-based organizations and other cultural, educational, and social events

This year, the city is trying a different approach to enforcing the minor curfew, partnering with 10 local churches and houses of worship.

According to city officials, instead of taking curfew violators to police precincts, Newark police will take the minor to one of the designated houses of worship. There, the minor can engage in “positive evening activities” and receive counseling until their parents pick them up. If nobody picks the child up or there are signs of abuse or neglect, the police will notify the State Division of Youth and Family Services for further action.

City officials added that any juvenile found to be in violation of the ordinance along with the parent or guardian will be issued a written warning that will be kept on file with the Police Department for a period of six months. A second infraction during that period will result in the arrest of the juvenile. If within six months from the second infraction the juvenile is found in violation of the ordinance, the juvenile and the parent or guardian will be summonsed to appear in court before a judge.

Fines can range from $100 to $1,000.

“I applaud the police department for its creative partnership with our houses of worship to safeguard our most precious commodity, our youth,” Mayor Ras Baraka stated. “We want to solve the problem of youth out after curfew, not simply stigmatize it, and we are uniting our faith-based community and its moral power with our efforts. We do not want our youth out on the streets at night, at risk to violence. We suffered a tragedy of the grandest proportions last year, when a 13-year-old was shot by another child. This is exactly what the curfew will address.”

Residents with questions about the Curfew Ordinance or any other Newark policy or program can contact the Non-Emergency Call Center at 973-733-4311.