Newark Youth Curfew 2.0: City Will Launch New Crackdown In May

NEWARK, NJ — Will a night curfew keep kids and teens safe? Or is it an example of government overreach? That’s the debate that is taking place in New Jersey’s largest city as Newark gets ready for an upcoming youth curfew crackdown on May 3.

Earlier this month, Newark officials announced that they were planning a new enforcement campaign for the city’s longstanding curfew, which has been in place for decades.

Under Newark’s law, “unaccompanied minors” who are 17-years-old and under cannot be more than 100 yards from their home between 11 p.m. and 5:30 a.m. There are some exceptions, such as jobs, “emergency errands” and extracurricular school activities.

Just before the crackdown was set to roll out on April 12, Newark officials announced that it was being postponed. The reason wasn't given in a statement from the city. See Related: Newark Is Postponing Nighttime Curfew Crackdown For Teens

The curfew crackdown is back on – but there are some new details that residents should know about, Newark officials announced Thursday:

WHEN WILL IT TAKE PLACE? – “Beginning on May 3, the newly designed juvenile curfew engagement process will be conducted on weekends, specifically on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. On June 21, when the school year ends, the juvenile curfew engagement process will be conducted seven days a week.”

WHAT HAPPENS IF COPS FIND KIDS BREAKING CURFEW? – “During both the weekend engagements and full-week engagements, Newark police who observe youth on the streets and unaccompanied by an adult during curfew hours will peacefully engage the youth by requesting his or her name, age, address, and parental contact to memorialize the stop in a documented report before reaching out to Office of Violence Prevention and Trauma Recovery (OVPTR). The police officer will contact OVPTR’s Wellness Response Team, consisting of a licensed OVPTR social worker and/or outreach worker, who will be deployed to the location where the police officer is waiting with the youth to be picked up. The Wellness Response Team will arrive in a City of Newark van, accompanied by a police officer to ensure the safety of the juvenile and OVPTR staff as the youth is being transported to his or her home address.”

WILL PARENTS BE CONTACTED? – “In the event that a parent or guardian is not at home or cannot be reached by phone, the youth will be transported to the Re-Engagement Center. OVPTR staff members will conduct an intake process. OVPTR staff will continue attempting to reach the youth’s parent or guardian. If no parent or guardian can be reached, the juvenile will be transported to a local hospital to receive a medical clearance. If, after four hours in the hospital, no parent or guardian has been reached, the New Jersey Division of Child Protection and Permanency will be contacted.”

WILL THERE BE ANY FOLLOW-UP? – “Within 24 to 48 hours after the initial juvenile curfew engagement contact with each youth, OVPTR social workers and outreach workers will follow up with families via phone contact or by conducting a home visit with an assessment regarding eligibility for additional resources.”

CURFEWS FOR TEENS: THE DEBATE

The concept of youth curfews has seen both criticism and support in New Jersey.

Proponents of youth curfew laws say that the ordinances can help to reduce juvenile violence, gang activity and other types of crime.

Newark Public Safety Director Fritz Fragé previously said the overnight hours are particularly hazardous for children because fewer adult family members and neighbors are outdoors late at night to monitor their safety.

“We want the children of our city to enjoy the outdoors safely by limiting the opportunity for them to find themselves in harm’s way,” Newark Mayor Ras Baraka said when the city first announced its crackdown earlier this month.

“The safest place for children at night is under the mindful supervision of their parents or another trusted adult, not on the streets,” Baraka added.

Some internet users have agreed.

“There is no good reason, that your kid, should be out past 11 p.m., in a city where most, if not all the businesses in the city close, after 7, 8, or even 9 p.m.,” a Reddit user recently wrote about Newark’s curfew.

“I'm so sick and tired of people acting like Newark is this utopia where kids can be out safely past 11 p.m.,” they added.

Others disagree with that stance, however.

The ACLU of New Jersey has been among their detractors, launching court battles against curfews in multiple towns over the past decades. Following a successful settlement between the ACLU-NJ and the Borough of Wanaque in 2014, the borough repealed an ordinance that set a 10 p.m. curfew for juveniles.

The nonprofit challenged that ordinance on behalf of a local parent and her 17-year-old daughter, who was cited by police for walking to a Burger King across the street from her home – with her parents’ permission.

In 1999, the ACLU-NJ won an injunction preventing West New York from enforcing a similar curfew. Advocates said several teens were arrested while returning home from activities such as delivering cake to a grandparent, eating in a restaurant with an adult friend, walking home from work at McDonald’s and walking home with friends from a movie.

“It makes no sense to criminalize the innocent activities of these teenagers, and numerous other good kids like them, for problems they haven’t caused,” an ACLU-NJ attorney said.

The same arguments were presented when West Orange tried to roll out a local youth curfew in 2001.

“The police already have the ability to arrest juveniles when they break the law, the curfew would have added nothing except giving police the right to arrest the innocent as well,” an attorney said.

Meanwhile, other advocacy groups such as The Marshall Project have claimed that youth curfews are ineffective crime-fighting tools that can actually make things worse, straining the already tense relationship between teens and police officers.

BEYOND CURFEWS

When Newark public safety officials released details about the new crackdown this week, they added that there is much more to the picture when it comes to making sure the city’s teens and children have a safe and happy summer.

Notably, the city’s OVPTR department – which “envisions a city where violence is approached from a public health perspective” – took a more prominent lead in the city’s latest press conference about the curfew on Thursday.

OVPTR Director Kyleesha Wingfield-Hill said the city’s Summer Safety Initiative 2024 will also include a wide variety of “fun events and programs” to give local teens a safe way to enjoy their vacations from school.

“Our summer offerings range from Movie Nights to Pop-Up Play Streets, Cops & Kids events, and more,” Wingfield-Hill said. “These programs will complement our year-round offering of job-training opportunities, needs-based referrals and other social services.”

Wingfield-Hill said the city has hired 150 high-risk youth for its Summer Safe Academy, and is partnering with the Department of Recreation, Cultural Affairs and Senior Services and the Arts and Education District to provide programming in all of its “hotspot locations” starting this June.

She also noted that the office has funded 24 youth mentorship organizations and nine therapeutic and clinical services organizations to assist the OVPTR with its efforts.

• See Related: Newark Bringing Back Summer Jobs For Youth Program
• See Related: Newark Center Helps Local Youth Get Their Education Back On Track
• See Related: ‘Justice Hub’ Will Help Break Cycle Of Violence For Essex County Youth

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