Philadelphia Issues Stricter Curfew Guidelines to Kids Under 18 Years Old

A smart move by Philadelphia officials was made this week and will be put into place effective immediately. Due to all the recent violence that has erupted in the city, there will now be community centers minor will be sent to instead of issuing parents a fine when kids break curfew.

Up until Thursday, the curfew time was the same for all kids under the age of 18. Times were subject to change depending on the time of the year. Now under the new bill that was just passed, curfew times are determined according to age. According to CBS Philly, kids under 13 years old have to be inside by 9:30pm year round. Kids under 14/15 have to be inside by 10:00pm. Finally, kids under 18 years old have to be inside by midnight.

I have been saying for the past few months that Philadelphia was in a state of emergency and that officials needed to step up and do more about the gun violence that has skyrocketed over the past year. This year alone, 130 kids were shot and over 100 kids have been arrested for gun charges.

Sending kids to "detention centers" for breaking curfew may be a step in the right direction. One of the reasons the city decided to build these community centers was because people didn't think it was fair to punish the parents for their child's wrongdoing. So now if a kid is out on the street passed their curfew, police can pick them up and take them to one of three community resource centers in the city. According to Newsbreak, these centers will be opening in the fall.

Now even though kids will be sent to these centers as punishment, they are also being used as education centers. According to Newsbreak, any kid who wants to walk into a center can do so. The goal of these centers is to teach kids how to handle conflicts the right way and to stop resorting to violence.

I applaud the city for taking action. Philly has been a warzone all year long and if the city isn't going to take drastic measures like calling in the national guard, then steps like this will work for now.