Mississippi city enacts curfew in an effort to curb youth violence. Critics say measures are ineffective.

JACKSON, Miss. — Officials unanimously approved reinstating a curfew for minors in a Mississippi city as part of an effort to curb the surge in youth violence.

The curfew was approved Wednesday by the Jackson City Council after Ward 3 Councilman Kenneth Stokes proposed the new ordinance during the council's meeting. The curfew will be enforced for those under the age of 18 and will go into effect on Feb. 2 until Jan. 1, 2025.

Multiple community organizations and leaders came out in support of the curfew as a way to curtail youth violence, which has recently increased in the city. Stokes said the curfew will help cut down youth murders in the city, as well as help deter minors from becoming criminals.

"We need to save these children. Too many of our children are involved in criminal activity. Too many are involved in being out 'til 1, 2, 3, or 4 in the morning. Too many of our children are not going to school and they should be in school. We need to save our children," Stokes said after the meeting.

The new measure is not the first time Jackson has implemented a curfew. In 2021, Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba issued a temporary curfew for minors in response to violent crime.

At the time, Lumumba said the curfew was intended to help protect the health and safety of Jackson residents amid a surge of gun violence, in particular children, "for whom current social conditions are taking an exceptional toll." 

In recent years, more than a dozen cities and counties across the United States have enforced juvenile curfews, according to Stateline. Supporters of curfews have said crime rates decrease when curfews are instated. But critics say juvenile curfews have been proven to be ineffective and often come with unintended consequences. 

What are Jackson's curfew hours?

On weekdays, the curfew will be from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., while on weekends it will be from 12 a.m. to 6 a.m., according to Jackson's Code of Ordinances.

The ordinance also mandates that students must be in school from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Friday during the school year. Students found in violation will be subject to youth court laws, the ordinance states.

A parent whose child is found breaking the curfew will receive a written warning for the offense. After that, it will increase to $25 for each subsequent offense — $25 for the first, $50 for the second, and so on.

These are the exceptions to the curfew ordinance:

• Any time a minor is accompanied by an adult.
• When accompanied by an adult authorized by a parent for a designated period and definite purpose, and within a designated space.
• If the minor is on an errand for a parent, the curfew is extended until 12:30 a.m.
• If the minor is legally employed.
• Until 12:30 a.m., if the minor is on property directly adjacent to their home.
• When returning home by a direct route and within 30 minutes of the termination of a school, religious or voluntary activity.
• In the case of reasonable necessity, if that necessity has been communicated to Jackson Police Department by the minor’s parents.
• When a minor, with parental consent, is traveling through the city via interstate.

Teen curfews:Cities are embracing teen curfews, though they might not curb crime

Jackson mayor says curfew 'isn't necessarily a negative idea'

James Hopkins, founder and CEO of local organization Reset Jackson, said he was in favor of the curfew because it would put more accountability on parents. He also said the city needs to "up the antes" with harsher penalties for those committing crimes.

"If you're held accountable, if there are penalties for allowing your child to do whatever they want to do, then you're more likely to tighten up the grip on them," Hopkins said. "We know we can't stop it (youth violence), we can slow it down. If we do nothing, it's going to fester, it's going to grow, it's going to increase."

Lumumba also spoke on the proposed curfew. While he leaned in favor of instating the curfew, the mayor also questioned if the city has the proper tools for the curfew to be meaningful and bring about change.

"What we've experienced in the past when we've enacted curfews is a police department that interacts with young people, detains them, often times tries to take them to a detention center which does not have the capacity to hold them, (and then) they are returned to the same homes that they walked out of in the first place," Lumumba said. "But that doesn't mean that a curfew in and of itself isn't necessarily a negative idea."

Lumumba recommended curfew centers to the city council, an idea he got from Baltimore when it introduced a curfew in May 2023.

"The curfew centers are not jail. It is not a detention center. It is not only a place that prepares our children for the criminal justice system," Lumumba said. "It is a center that has social work professionals there, that have people that when they (children) are taken to those centers, they can deal with the underlying challenges that led them on the streets in the first place."

Do curfews work?

Curfews have been introduced in some of America's largest cities, including Washington, D.C.; Memphis, Tennessee; New Smyrna Beach, Florida; Philadelphia; and Chicago. Local leaders have pushed proposals for curfew ordinances to reduce curb violence, and limit juvenile victimization and involvement rates.

But curfews have also disproportionately impacted juveniles in minority communities, with Black youths facing higher rates of curfew and loitering arrests than white teens, according to data collected by the U.S. Justice Department's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

The National Council on Crime and Delinquency said a curfew "unnecessarily funnels large numbers of nondelinquent youth into a criminal justice system that is already inundated with alleged offenders," according to the delinquency prevention office.

Contributing: Sarah Elbeshbishi and Natalie Neysa Alund, USA TODAY; Justin Vicory, Mississippi Clarion Ledger