Some Folks Trying to Turn Out the Lights on Extending the Juvenile Curfew Ordinance

By Robert Wilonsky Wed., Mar. 18 2009 at 2:40 PM

Categories: News

'Member how, last month, the Dallas City Council's Public Safety Committee started talking about changing the Juvenile Curfew Ordinance to include daylight hours as well? Turns out, a group's done sprung up to oppose such an alteration: the Citizens Against the Dallas Daytime Curfew, which IDs itself as a "small, grassroots group." But it's a busy one (and they've got T-shirts too!): In advance of public hearings scheduled for March 25 and April 22 in advance of the council vote next month, the CADDC is planning a rally on Monday from 4 to 6 p.m. on the steps of Dallas City Hall. And, yup, they'll have folks lined up to speak their piece at the public hearings.

Writes Tracy Wallace, who's among those spearheading the CADDC's cause, "We believe the proposed daytime curfew for children is a bad idea [because] It would make being under 17 and in public a crime on DISD school days. Child, parent and businesses allowing minors on premises can be given a class C misdemeanor citation which may carry a fine up to $500. It's an effort to reduce daytime juvenile crime, hold parents accountable and keep kids in school. This daytime curfew is not the solution to reach those goals."

She's got further points to make after the jump.

Writes Johnson in a media release just sent to Unfair Park:

The problems with the proposed daytime curfew for children:
Duplicates existing truancy law which is focused on keeping kids in school and out of the criminal justice system
Police already have the authority to return truants to school
Scatter-shot approach to fighting crime
Does not offer real solutions to crime or truancy
Places financial strain on already struggling families and businesses
Places additional strain on law enforcement
Creates a huge pool of 1st offenders
Research shows these don't work. If this law passes, our society is nearing a totalitarian police state. We need to get the word out. Many people have no idea this is coming...

If the City Council and DPD had practiced due diligence they could easily have found the same info. One of the reasons DPD has given for pursuing it -- all the other cities are doing it. The ACLU of Texas has been advising us and will be at the Rally on Monday afternoon.