Fayetteville community weighs in on newly voted youth curfew

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (WTVD) -- A new youth curfew will soon go into effect in Fayetteville after the city council adopted it on Tuesday night.

The question of whether the city of Fayetteville should create a youth curfew to reduce crime has been a hot-button issue for years.

After council members voted in the curfew, some people said keeping young people off the street in an attempt to curb violence is justified. However, critics say the move could potentially backfire.

The city council voted five to four on Monday night to put the citywide youth curfew in place.

The curfew states that those 16 and under should not be out and unattended in the community between 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. Some exceptions are included for scenarios such as young people commuting for work, government functions, or religious reasons.

However, some council members said they're concerned that they don't fully understand the ordinance that put the curfew in place, and said they wanted more time to learn about the measure ahead of a follow-up meeting next month.

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"I don't think kids should be out there anyway, especially at 16," said Tahara Evans of Fayetteville. "I just feel like a lot of trouble happens when it gets dark, especially that late. So I think it's a good idea that they did that."

Some critics said there are not enough resources for the curfew to be successful.

"It doesn't work. There is no proven track record that having this curfew is going to actually stop or deter crime. If anything, I think it's going to have an adverse effect," said Camille Hill, a criminal defense attorney in Fayetteville. "There's no outlet. There's no resources. Our community centers, they close at 8 or 9 o'clock."

"There's a lot of good kids out here. They're getting mixed up in a lot of bad stuff just because they're out in the streets too late at night and somebody needs to do something about it," said Fayetteville native Nick Owen."I don't necessarily think it's the kids' fault...I don't necessarily think a curfew is a bad thing, but I think a parental-focused curfew would be a much better idea."

The city said the curfew will be gradually carried out, and that officers will soon be trained to enforce it.

Council members are expected to resume talks about the curfew again on June 9.

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