LISTENING IN
Residents sound off on teen curfew
Issuing a curfew for teenagers doesn’t solve any problems Southlake isn’t already addressing said Andrea Brankin Monday night. “The police are already able to address acts of vandalism and troublemakers without having to enforce a curfew,” Brankin said. “Even as a preemptive effort, I think it is too strong, and I hope it is delayed.”
Resident Genny Hale lives in Town Square and is a member of the Citizens on Patrol, a volunteer organization who works with the DPS to promote public safety and crime prevention. Hale said she often sees teenagers causing trouble during the week. “I think those times are perfectly fine,” Hale said. “You have no idea how many kids are wandering around Town Square yelling, screaming and throwing rocks. Some of them have attitude and should not talk back the way they do.”
Chief Wade Goolsby of the Southlake DPS said in his research of surrounding areas and his experience in other communities with curfews he found a reduction in the amount of problems. However, he also said juvenile involvement in the number of acts of vandalism and burglary cannot always be determined.
“It is a restriction of freedom to an extent,” Goolsby said. “Everybody has a different opinion on it. I was working in Coppell, when we put it into place, and I saw it work pretty effectively. The problems reduced quite a bit after the curfew was put into place.” Several Southlake residents attended the presentation of a proposed teen curfew and stricter guidelines for where sexual offenders can live. Brankin was the only resident who spoke against the proposed curfew. The curfew would restrict teenagers from hanging out in public places after 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and after midnight Friday and Saturday.
“It does allow minors to travel to and from places and be out if they are supervised,” Goolsby said. “Basically, this is just targeting minors who are unsupervised.”
After a few residents spoke to the extent of teenage troublemaking in Town Square, Brankin said disturbances occurring in the evening are usually addressed accordingly and she sees no reason to create stricter penalties for later hours. “I don’t understand the magic of 11 p.m., and I don’t like the idea of penalizing all Southlake youth after 11 p.m. because of a few troublemakers.”
Resident Pamela Mueller, a member of Students and Parents Against Risk to Kids, said mischief is being done and the curfew could also curb teenagers from surrounding communities coming to Southlake to avoid the curfews in their own cities. “We were approached as a task force to see what we could do to help,” Mueller said. “We are one of the few cities that don’t have it in place yet. This isn’t going to be a case where police are looking to create a witch hunt. Those children will not be pulled over unless they have done something to attract attention.”
Brankin also said despite many surrounding areas creating curfews for their teenagers, the city of Arlington hasn’t deemed it necessary and neither should Southlake, saying if it’s not broke, don’t fix it.
Goolsby said the proposal, set to be presented to the city council next week, is a preventative tool to keep Southlake safe. “We’re trying to be proactive rather than waiting for acts to occur,” Goolsby said. “We’re hearing a lot of the parents say they like this because it gives them a tool to help them deal with their kids. And, if we can help them in that role, that’s great.”
Several parents and teachers said the curfew is a good idea because they don’t think there are many good reasons for teenagers to be out past 11 p.m. during the week. Brankin agreed with keeping the youth of the community out of trouble late at night, but said that is a parental duty. “I don’t want ‘nanny/babysitting’ to be added to the police responsibility,” Brankin said.
Shelley Doggétt
13 February 2008
http://www.courier-gazette.com/articles/2008/02/13/southlake_times/news/0002sl.txt