New Haven Independent

Tinney, executive director of New Haven Family Alliance, said her agency deals with many of the families who would likely be impacted by the proposed 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew for youth 17 and under. “A curfew creates an ‘us and them’ mentality” between cops and kids — that, she said at a hearing Wednesday night in the aldermanic chambers — was the thrust of a comment Pastore, who ushered in community policing in the 1990s, made in opposition to another proposal for a curfew back then. Tinney said she fears violators of such a curfew would be funneled into the criminal justice system, which she called “a slippery slope” to be avoided.

Instead, she said, “We need to invest resources in young people — in youth employment, educational opportunities, we need to invest in families. We need to put as much emphasis on the front end of this work as we do on the back end once they’re in the [criminal justice] system.”

A murmur swept through the crowd in the aldermanic chamber when she mentioned that the city’s plans to welcome Hurricane Katrina survivors to New Haven last year included many job offers for them — yet the city cannot offer summer jobs or any jobs to the majority of youthful residents who want them.

Aldermanic Youth Committee chair Bitsie Clark (pictured with Beaver Hills Alderman Tom Lehtonen) presided over the Committee of the Whole meeting. She had invited half a dozen city officials and community leaders to get a range of views about the proposal, put forward by Alders Joyce Chen, Yusuf Shah, Liz McCormack and Michelle Edmonds-Sepulveda.

First some of the sponsors made impassioned statements about the need for such a curfew as a way to protect youth from being either victims or perpetrators of violence — sometimes deadly violence as was seen over the summer, when a spate of killings occurred. Two of those murdered were just 13 years old, and in several cases the suspects were also teenagers.

Then, Corporation Counsel Tom Ude explained that, based on curfews passed in other cities, it would be difficult but not impossible to craft an ordinance that would stand up to inevitable court challenges. “It must be substantially related to the problem that’s been identified,” he said. (There was not agreement on exactly what that problem is.) He did not analyze the specific proposal before the Board of Aldermen, because it’s likely to change before it would be brought up for a vote, but aldermanic President Carl Goldfield suggested it would be helpful to get a legal analysis of it sooner rather than later, so alders could make a more informed decision about what constitutes a defensible curfew ordinance.

Among the concerns raised was the punitive nature of the proposed ordinance, which restricts youthful behavior and fines parents, even though the sponsors of the ordinance see it as a way to help protect youth who are on the streets at night.

Police Chief Cisco Ortiz said he has many concerns about it. One was that if his officers pick up curfew violators, “There is no place to take kids for meaningful referrals,” as proposed in the ordinance.

School Superintendent Reginald Mayo painted a picture of “the good old days,” when, as he told it, all the adults knew what all the kids were up to and weren’t shy about stepping in or reporting unacceptable behavior back to parents. He said 21st century society needs to bring back some of that old-fashioned community spirit. But, dealing with reality, he said he worried that if police try to stop a youth after 10 p.m., many kids’ first instinct is to run away, and that could lead to much worse problems, especially if a cop thinks a youth may have a weapon.

Roger Vann, a New Haven resident and parent and head of the American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut, registered his strong opposition to the curfew. (Click here to read a previous story outlining his views.) The ACLU argues that such curfews are unconstitutional.

Greg Smith, a parent activist from the Dwight neighborhood, said a curfew might work, but only in conjunction with many other programs and services to prevent youth violence and support families.

Todd Foster (pictured on the left, with Roger Vann, as the two waited to testify), pastor of Church on the Rock, was probably the most favorably disposed to the idea of a curfew, but he echoed what several other speakers said. “I think it should be pursued, but if there’s not a direct tie-in to services offered along with it, better not to do it.”

The Board of Aldermen will hold two public hearings specifically for people 20 years old and younger to testify on the curfew: Nov. 29 at 6 p.m. at Hillhouse High School, and Nov. 30 at 6 p.m. at Wilbur Cross High School. Bitsie Clark said two meetings were scheduled to accommodate youth who felt they couldn’t safely venture across town due to “beefs” they or their friends have with kids from other neighborhoods.