Indianapolis police detail youth curfew plans ahead of spring break
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Indianapolis police are providing clarity on how they'll be enforcing youth curfews as spring break approaches and warm weather returns.
Why it matters: Officials have been fine-tuning their juvenile public safety plans for the past two years in response to multiple mass shootings involving young people and record-setting youth homicide numbers.
Driving the news: The biggest change coming this spring and summer is the new Juvenile Connection Centers, designated safe spaces piloted last summer where youth will be taken if caught violating curfew.
- The centers will provide kids with food and a place to rest while waiting for a parent or guardian to pick them up.
- IMPD Chief Tanya Terry said the centers will also provide an opportunity for outreach specialists staffing them to learn more about what contributed to the child's contact with law enforcement, as well as to provide additional support if needed.
The latest: The first Connection Center of the year will be established on Friday and Saturday night to coincide with the start of IPS spring break.
- Terry said the exact location of the center is being kept confidential for safety reasons.
- She added that the centers will be reactivated when police expect more young people on the street.
- "We want more than just a warning," she said. "We want a meaningful intervention."
What they're saying: Chrystal Hines, founder and CEO of the Inner Beauty Program, a mentorship program, said the centers are an attempt to understand the complex challenges local kids are facing today.
- "For some, home may not feel safe or supportive. It may be a place that feels toxic or difficult to be in," she said at a Tuesday press conference. "For others, they are simply looking for connection … and to feel a sense of belonging."
For Heather Savage, executive director of Let Them Talk, intervention at a center could become a life-saving turning point for a child.
- "When we meet them with resources, caring adults and opportunities instead of isolation, we help redirect their paths towards something better," she said.
Zoom in: Indiana's curfew law says children ages 15-17 may not be unsupervised in a public place between 1am and 5am Saturday and Sunday; after 11pm Sunday-Thursday; and before 5am Monday-Friday.
- Children under 15 are not to be out after 11pm or before 5am on any day.
Yes, but: Exceptions are granted to juveniles out for work, school activities, religious events or engaging in the right of assembly.
How it works: Officers will make public announcements via patrol car 30 minutes and 15 minutes before curfew begins, followed by an additional notice once it starts.
- IndyGo will also make announcements on city buses.
Flashback: Indianapolis rolled out a temporary extended curfew last summer that required kids to be off the streets two hours earlier than state law required.
- The proposal was adopted following a downtown mass shooting that left two children dead and five other people wounded following Fourth of July celebrations.