Bridgeport Police Chief Joe Gaudett told City Council members Monday night that police cannot enforce an 11 p.m. youth curfew unless the entire community — from residents to educators to social service agencies — is involved.
The city’s legislative body is considering a proposal to enforce a curfew following the shooting death of 14-year-old Justin Thompson in the East End. A public hearing will take place on Monday at 6 p.m. in City Hall to field community input. Actually, a curfew ordinance is already on the books, passed in 1994 after years of violent crime devastated neighborhoods. But, the chief noted, additional resources would be required to do the job.
He recommended in the short term a pilot program that would enable police to gather information for several weeks and report back to the council. Translation: don’t ask us for results unless you give us the tools to do the job.
For more on this check out the story by Keila Torres Ocasio here.
Is this curfew business proposed by council members legit or just for show?
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What happened to this issue? Where does the city stand on it now ?
A curfew can’t be enforced,and therefore can’t work.The cops can’t be everywhere watching every kid.We need parents to start being parents again.Watch your own teens.Don’t let them hang out with 20 yr olds if they are only 14.There’s no good reason for 20-somethings to hang out with young kids,unless they are USING them for some purpose (like illegal activities-if a minor gets caught breaking the law-no jail time,just call the parents.)