Skip School, Go to Jail?
Dallas police push for daytime juvenile curfew
Updated 5:11 PM CST, Tue, Jan 6, 2009
Dallas police said Tuesday they plan to ask the City Council for a daytime curfew for truant teenagers.
Police Chief David Kunkle said he would like the ability to take truant teenagers to a specified lockup instead of back to school. Parents would be forced to pick up their children at the lockup. The fine could be as high as $500, and parents could be ticketed as well.
Police said they believe teenagers who skip school may be responsible for a large number of day time residential burglaries and vehicle break-ins, Dallas police said.
Supporters say getting trouble-making teenagers off the streets will continue the city's trend of decreasing crime.
"We need to do something else," Mayor Pro Tem Elba Garcia said. "If we know or we think that some of the burglaries that happen during the day have a truancy component, we need to do something about truancy."
Dallas police plan to present a proposal for a daytime curfew to the City Council on Feb 2.
Dallas already has a nighttime curfew in place for juveniles.
First Published: Jan 6, 2009 4:14 PM CST
You Might Like
You have 2000 characters left
