Cincinnati is stepping up its efforts to curb crime with a renewed focus on youth curfew enforcement starting this weekend. According to a WLWT report, all unaccompanied minors under the age of 18 must be off city streets by 11 p.m. The curfew is even stricter in designated areas such as the Central Business District and parts of Over-the-Rhine, where it begins at 9 p.m. To handle potential violators, Cincinnati has set up a curfew center at Seven Hills Neighborhood Houses.
The curfew strategy is part of a broader safety initiative, as the city also approves $2 million for more police patrols and security cameras. However, Law enforcement officials have expressed a preference for voluntary compliance rather than punitive measures. Mayor Aftab Pureval emphasized, "The point of this is to save kids. We want to prevent them from being victims of crime. And we want to prevent having to create a criminal record on a kid that will follow them for the rest of their lives." This comment is directly from Pureval's interview with WLWT.
In a WCPO story, Cincinnati officials note that the creation of a curfew center is in line with the successes seen in other cities. Indianapolis, for instance, partnered with nonprofit organizations to establish what they termed a reunification center. "Let's not make this punitive," Kareem Hines, founder of Indianapolis nonprofit New B.O.Y., told WCPO. His program focuses on "connection before correction," a concept Cincinnati aims to emulate with its own curfew enforcement plan.
Meanwhile, down in Cincinnati's parks, youths without a parent or guardian must now leave by 9 p.m., with areas such as Smale Riverfront Park and Washington Park included in the new mandate. In the past, The Enquirer's review of local data indicates that curfew violations have decreased across Hamilton County over the last 25 years, despite concerns over the consequences of criminalizing youth for such violations. As the city treads into this complicated intersection of juvenile policy and public safety, Mayor Pureval and the Cincinnati Police Department are championing a scenario in which restriction breeds protection, rather than unnecessary punishment.
