ST. LOUIS – The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department reminds resident that the “juvenile curfew” will continue to be enforced during the overnight hours for Friday and Saturday this weekend. A citywide juvenile curfew is in effect from Midnight to 5 a.m..
“Our downtown is not a playground, and our officers will be out,” said SLMPD in a post via social media. “Parents will be held responsible for the behavior of their children.” The post also noted that parents and guardians could be subject to fines for curfew violations.
While St. Louis police shared of the curfew on Friday on social media, an SLMPD spokesperson says this curfew is not new. The spokesperson says it is part of a city ordinance that has been in effect for the City of St. Louis since 1997.
Mitch McCoy, SLMPD Director of Public Affairs and Information, referred to the social media posts announcing the curfew as a “gentle reminder” to hold the community accountable.
“We went through this last summer,” said McCoy. “As a police department we have to stay on top of emerging trends and messaging in a way that communicates the most with our community.”
The curfew is again in effect after St. Louis police arrested dozens of people over the Fourth of July weekend, mostly teenagers, for disturbances that included setting off fireworks, possessing guns and resisting arrest, among other things.
Police expressed that Fourth of July weekend enforcement efforts came from an effort to maintain public safety and crackdown on illegal activities.
“This year, we decided to keep the conversation going after the Fourth of July because of the ongoing conversation that’s occurring across the city and our community when it comes to juveniles,” said McCoy.
As part of this week’s curfew enforcement efforts, SLMPD will operate a cruising detail that includes both officers marked in uniform and out of uniform.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, a “juvenile” is defined as a person who has not attained his or her 18th birthday, so the curfew is presumably in effect for individuals aged 17 and younger.
