Fayetteville city leaders react to rise in juvenile crime after youth curfew took effect

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (WTVD) -- Fayetteville Police data show youth crime has risen this year, even after the city implemented a youth curfew meant to address youth violence.

According to the Fayetteville Police Department's 3rd Quarter 2025 Crime Report, overall juvenile crime rose nearly 21 percent from January through September compared with the same period in 2024.

A notable increase was in assaults involving children and teens, which climbed 85% from 162 to 298. The data shows a steady increase in youth assaults throughout 2025, with 74 reported in the first quarter, 82 in the second, and 104 in the third.

Police recorded 1,356 total juvenile charges through the first three quarters of 2025, compared with 1,159 during the same period in 2024.

Some types of youth crime did drop in the third quarter. Breaking-and-entering charges (including car break-ins) dropped from 120 through this period last year to 98 this year, a more than 18% drop. It's down notably quarter-by-quarter too, with 54 in the first quarter, 30 in the second, and only 13 incidents in the third quarter. Property crimes involving minors are down too.

The city's curfew, which went into effect in July, restricts minors 16 and younger from being in public between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. with some exceptions. The enforcement would be targeted toward parents and guardians, with them being cited instead of kids.

However, Fayetteville Police Chief Roberto Bryan told city council during his presentation on the quarterly crime report Monday night that no curfew citations have been issued since the ordinance began, though that statistic was not listed on the presentation slide covering information about the youth curfew. Officers have charged minors 31 times for other crimes committed during curfew hours but have not handed out a single curfew violation.

Councilmember Mario Benavente, who also works as a criminal defense attorney in Cumberland County often appointed to juvenile cases, has been critical of the curfew since it first came up. He told ABC11 in July that he hasn't seen a curfew be effective in other cities and didn't feel it was the right solution for Fayetteville.

We checked back in with him after receiving the first crime report since the curfew took effect, he called the curfew performative.

"Something that sounded like we were doing something, but in fact, has done nothing," Benavente told ABC11. "The police themselves have said they've done nothing with it, and so we have no statistics to show that the curfew has had an impact at all."

Mayor Mitch Colvin, who proposed the curfew earlier this year, said he feels the curfew has been a success so far, but it's too early to judge its long-term effectiveness.

"I think so far it's been well received," Colvin said. "Parents - who were our target audience - have been more involved and proactive in making sure there's a little more accountability on their end. We'll continue to monitor it over the next several months."

The Mayor said we need to review data from multiple quarters before we can zero in on the effectiveness of the curfew, but he highlighted that not all areas of youth crime increased.

"We did see some positive news that some of the things that we were concerned with, the juveniles being involved with car break-ins and some of the property crimes areas are down significantly. So, we're happy about that," Colvin said.

Colvin said the curfew is not meant to be the single solution to juvenile crime, but that additional investment needs to be made in Fayetteville youth as well.

"We'll continue to build out our community programs to be proactive," Colvin said. "We want to get our parents involved in some of the things we have - positive activities - so that we can help mitigate this on the front end as well."

Benavente said he would like to see more city investment in preventative programs. He cited that other cities have seen success in the curbing youth violence and overall crime when they've funded programs that address issues with housing insecurity, joblessness and access to childcare.

"When parents themselves aren't able to do everything they can for their children because they themselves are struggling and may need a lot of help, we have oftentimes very young parents raising these children," he said. "Until we get them the support they need, we're going to continue to see crime statistics go up."

If you want to read the full 3rd quarter 2025 Fayetteville Police Department's crime report, click here and select the file under the attachments category marked FINAL FPD 2025 3 QTR.