Dallas

Dallas City Councilman, Police Chief to Ask for Input on Future on Teen Curfew Ordinance at Community Meeting

Dallas' longstanding teen curfew ordinance expired in January

What to Know

  • Dallas leaders will hold a community meeting Monday night to hear input on the future the city's teen curfew ordinance.
  • Dallas' previous ordinance expired in January.
  • The Dallas Police Department said it planned to bring forward a new proposed ordinance before summer 2019.

Dallas leaders are asking for community input regarding the future of a teen curfew ordinance for the city.

Dallas' longstanding ordinance expired last month, but it may not be dead for long.

The city council member representing West Dallas, Omar Narvaez, and Dallas Police Chief Renee Hall will be on hand at a community meeting at the Jaycee Zaragoza Recreation Center from 6-7 p.m. Monday.

The city's old ordinance was allowed to expire in January amid growing pressure from some city and community leaders who said it unfairly targeted minority youth.

With some exceptions, the ordinance applied to teenagers under 17 years old who were outside during school hours or late at night during the week and on weekends.

Parents of violators faced a misdemeanor with fines of up to $500.

The Dallas Police Department has said it planned to bring forward a new proposed ordinance to the city before summer 2019.

A new ordinance cannot be enacted without at least two public hearings -- one option could be to have lesser penalties.

However, one community activist said the city needed to step back and instead consider focusing on adding activities and city-owned places for teens to hang out.

"I think every parent that has a teen should be concerned about this curfew law because they're going to criminalize their children," LULAC's Hilda Duarte said. "I say OK, if you want to do it in 12 months, if you want to research and see if it's effective. Let's keep data."

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