Moms dealing with urban violence threw a surprise pitch at the police chief: How about reviving the push for a teen curfew?
New Haven seemed to have settled the curfew question two years ago. An alderwoman proposed one. Communitywide opposition resulted, including hours-long public hearings where kids pleaded for grown-ups to spend more time with them rather than lock them behind home doors.
But meanwhile Hartford has implemented a youth curfew in response to that city’s rise in teen shootings. (A Register editorial sort of praised it Thursday.)
And Wednesday night members of a group called Meeting of the Moms asked Police Chief James Lewis if he’d champion one here in the Elm City. Lewis was noncomittal.
Twenty members of the African-American women’s activist group , formed in response to the dnagers their children face on urban streets, gathered with two male aldermen and a former mayor at the Courtland Wilson branch library in the Hill for the new chief’s latest community meet-and-greet.
Stephanie Boyd (pictured above) asked the chief’s views about a curfew. Click here for a story about the last attempt in 2006 – 2007.
“I’m not opposed to a curfew,” Lewis replied, “but it won’t work if there’s no one home” with whom officers can leave the kids they pick up. He added that he’s heard the recently initiated curfew in Hartford is working quite well.
A little while later another woman asked, “What would be the first thing you’d do to start a curfew?”
“We need a place to bring the kids where there will be a positive end result,” Lewis said. If you don’t give me that, then we have to put them in the criminal justice system.”
Alderman Robert Lee (pictured) came across town to the meeting bearing statistics from the Hartford Police Department: In the first three weeks of the curfew, 119 youth had been picked up and issued warnings. The number of shooting victims had dropped from 16 the three weeks prior to the start of the curfew to nine for the three weeks following. A note indicated that teens are dropped off at home or with a relative, but “If no adult is present, youth is picked up by the [State] Department of Children and Families.”
Also at Wednesday night’s meeting, Lewis (pictured) said he’s making prostitution stings a priority (though he said they only use 1 percent of his total force’s work time). Residents shouldn’t have to live like prisoners inside their homes, he said. He also said he hopes that by taking on this issue the department will build trust that will lead residents to share valuable information about other crimes. He also emphasized that traffic violations are rampant and the cops are starting to stake out neighborhoods where they cite drivers for speeding, running red lights, or even having a missing plate or headlight — and that once the stop is made they can then check the vehicles for drugs or weapons. He said they’ve found both in some stops they’ve made so far.
“It sounds more like an occupation,” responded criminal justice reform activist Barbara Fair. “You are not going to arrest away prostitution. You have to address the root cause” of problems like drug use and prostitution. She said the chief’s M.O. sounded suspiciously like racial profiling.
He responded that he would never violate anyone’s constitutional rights. His officers must always have cause, such as a broken headlight, to stop a motorist, he said.
After the meeting, Fair said, “I’m going to reserve my feelings and hope he proves me wrong. But when you talk about dogs and stopping people for traffic violations, that sounds like an occupation to me. The ends don’t justify the means. … Going out and embarrassing a prostitute — how does that change our community? Try listening to her. It doesn’t have to be us against them.”
Fair did say that she felt the chief listened to her, especially in a one on one conversation after the meeting. But she also said she’s glad she’s moved from New Haven back to West Haven, and worries about her adult children who still live in the Elm City — that they could be picked up on any pretext and sent to jail.
Another questioner pointedly asked, “What are you doing about crime within the department?” Lewis answered by first mentioning the busted cops from the narcotics unit in 2007 whose arrests initiated the whole department-wide reform plan that eventually brought him to New Haven as chief. He added that since arriving he has moved to fire another officer and has suspended four more — an announcement that seemed to impress his audience.
Former Mayor John Daniels (pictured) was in the audience. After the meeting he expressed the hope that community policing, which he brought to New Haven as mayor in 1990 when he made Nick Pastore chief, would make a comeback. He said Lewis “has a lot on his plate now,” but added, “I think he’s committed to community policing. It will take some other form than what it was in the ’90s, but it will be good for the city.” He pronounced himself “very pleased” with the chief so far.
Here we go again.
Now kids, don't go out and shoot each other, sell/use drugs or rob people. You might get a ticket and a ride home.
A ticket that will no doubt have to be paid by parents who cant afford it.
Maybe if the penalty jumped right to community service but then I'm sure the more "hard" offenders would just skip that and get their lifestyle justifying juvie time in.
You cant deter when the punishment is viewed as a positive thing by the offender.
You could force them to dress well and speak properly and stand up straight. That might deter them.