CPD assistant chief talks about proposed curfew for minors in Uptown Columbus
A proposed ordinance before Columbus Council could set a curfew for minors in the Uptown District of Columbus.
Uptown Columbus Inc., the nonprofit organization that promotes downtown businesses, proposed the ordinance after more than 400 incidents were reported in the district over the past year, based on numbers provided by the Columbus Police Department.
CPD Assistant Chief Lance Deaton said a little less than half of those cases involve juveniles. But ne noted this number doesn’t include the number of contacts police make with juveniles.
Columbus police are making these contacts, but no arrests and no documentation of those contacts are being made, Deaton said, because the department is limited in what it can do.
Deaton said the primary places CPD is seeing juveniles congregate in Uptown are the main thoroughfare of Broadway and in parking garages.
What proposed Columbus curfew ordinance says
The proposed curfew would make it unlawful, except for certain exemptions, for anyone under the age of 18 to be in any public place, street, sidewalk, park, parking garage or other public area from Eighth Street to 14th Street and between Second Avenue and Bay Avenue from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. each day, with some exceptions.
Any parents, legal guardians or other adults having custody or control of any child under the age of 18 would be held responsible if the minor is found to be violating the curfew. Adults convicted of violating the ordinance would be punished with a fine of up to $1,000, imprisonment for up to 90 days or both, in accordance with Sec. 1-8 in the city code.
Could minors visit Uptown Columbus businesses past curfew?
Multiple restaurants and other establishments in Uptown stay open past 9 p.m. When asked whether teens would be arrested for trying to procure goods from these establishments past the curfew if the ordinance passes, Deaton said, “Those are not the kids that we’re worried about because the kids that are going down there wreaking havoc aren’t patronizing any of those businesses. That’s the problem.”
“If it was just that kids were coming down there and they were going to Freeze Frame to eat ice cream, nobody would be saying a word — nobody cares,” he said. “But when you have a bunch of kids who go into Freeze Frame and take over the business and don’t buy a stitch of ice cream, that’s a problem, and they’re standing up on tables, and they’re tearing up chairs and those kinds of things. That’s the issue.”
Deaton said CPD is not trying to keep kids from having somewhere to go, but he said the kids aren’t spending money and not just hanging out but also “getting into mischief.”
Purpose of proposed Columbus curfew ordinance
Deaton said the purpose of the ordinance is not to arrest kids and put them in the system. He said he hopes CPD never has to arrest a kid or issue a citation.
The police are trying to take a proactive approach to the situation because they already had some instances and want to ensure they don’t get into a situation where they have several major instances, according to Deaton.
Deaton said this type of ordinance is not uncommon. He said the department gathered copies of ordinances from “all over the place.”
CPD and Uptown Columbus Inc. originally suggested an 8 p.m. curfew because the department starts to see kids being dropped off in the area from 7-8 p.m., Deaton said. But he said Mayor Skip Henderson brought forth the 9 p.m. curfew in the proposed ordinance.
Why is only Uptown in the proposed Columbus curfew ordinance?
A news release June 2 from CPD says the department was seeing issues involving juveniles at businesses across the city. However, the ordinance specifies the curfew would apply to only the Uptown District.
When asked why the ordinance specifies only Uptown, Deaton said the other Columbus businesses where police see issues are on private property that have tools (such as rules and regulations) in place that can be used. He said some of those businesses are made for kids.
Uptown doesn’t have those same tools due to issues of public property such as public sidewalks and public garages.
“To compare those areas, it’s not the same” Deaton said. “. . . We don’t have the same ability to enforce that in the Uptown area because the laws aren’t applicable because you’re talking about a lot of public right of ways and stuff versus private property.”
When asked whether there is a fear that passing this ordinance would just displace these teens to another area, Deaton said it’s not a fear, but he thinks it’s a given.
However, Deaton said moving those kids to these other places, CPD will have the ability to deal with that with existing state laws and city ordinances.
Deaton said he thinks the biggest asset to the curfew is it gives CPD the ability to hold the parents accountable.
“I’m more concerned about the mama who put those two little girls in an Uber and had them brought downtown,” Deaton said.
In a city council meeting May 26, Deaton told the council about a mother who put her 9-year-old daughter and another 9-year-old girl in an Uber to Uptown.
“I don’t think those two little girls ought to be punished,“ he said. “I think the mama should be punished. And I think the law thinks that too.”
Deaton said the ordinance would allow for officers to charge the child or the parent based on the circumstances and that officers would have discretion.
“We’re trying to change behavior,” he said. “We’re not trying to get people in the system, but sometimes the only way you can change behavior is to put people in the system.”
Deaton said the curfew isn’t about writing tickets, a money grab or putting kids or their parents in the system that can’t afford it.
“We just need you to act right, and parents, we need you to make sure your children act right or do what you can,” he said. “But nobody’s going to charge a mom and dad for a kid who sneaks out of the house and they don’t know about it.”
When asked whether keeping local parks open later might help prevent minors from congregating in Uptown, Deaton said, “Maybe.” He added that the number of minors in Uptown might decrease.
How CPD would implement proposed Columbus curfew
If the council passes the curfew ordinance, Deaton said, a public service announcement push would make people aware of it.
CPD then would start enforcing the ordinance and dealing with kids and their parents on a case-by-case basis., Deaton said. Police in Uptown are already talking to them about the possible ordinance, he said..