Wichita has a teenage curfew. So do Lawrence and Manhattan.
Mayor Bill Bunten suggests Topeka also impose a curfew for those 17 and under, at least in some parts of town.
“We should consider curfews in high-crime areas,” Bunten said this past Monday in an address at the annual State of the Community Luncheon.
Bunten put forth that suggestion as food for thought, he said in an interview Friday.
“I think any proposal to reduce crime and make neighborhoods safer is worth exploring,” he said.
Bunten isn’t proposing any specific curfew rules but said he would like to see people in the community talk about what type of curfew arrangements they think would be appropriate.
The Topeka City Council last considered a curfew in 2004, when four of its members sponsored a proposal to put such an arrangement in place, and a fifth said it had her backing.
But one sponsor, Councilman Gary Price, left the council two weeks before it considered the proposal. Price hadn’t yet been replaced on the council when its members voted 4-4 in September 2004 — with five votes being needed for approval — to reject the proposal.
That proposal would have imposed a citywide curfew calling for those 15 and younger to be home by 11 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays and by midnight Fridays and Saturdays. Minors ages 16 and 17 would have had to be home by midnight on Sundays through Thursdays and by 1 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights. The curfew would have lasted each night until 6 a.m.
Minors would have been allowed out during the curfew if they were accompanied by a parent or guardian, running an emergency errand, traveling for work, or attending an official school, religious or recreational activity supervised by adults.
Those who voted against the curfew proposal in 2004 included Councilman John Alcala, who said Friday he still opposes a curfew.
“I’m not convinced it’s going to fix anything,” Alcala said. “It’ll keep the good kids in, and the kids who don’t have a lot of supervision will still be out.”
Alcala said he thought more of Topeka’s crime problems are caused by people in their early to middle 20s than by juveniles under age 18.
He stressed that the city, should it institute a curfew, would need to resolve questions about such things as what it does with curfew violators, what costs imposing a curfew might bring and how the city would pay those costs.
Councilwoman Sylvia Ortiz also said Friday she isn’t in favor of curfews.
Councilman Andrew Gray wrote this past Monday on The Topeka Capital-Journal’s Facebook page that he considered the concept of putting a curfew in place only for certain, high-crime parts of the city to be a “horrible idea.”
Gray wrote: “What quantifiers will be used for one area over another that isn’t based on race or socioeconomic factors? None.”
Bunten said he hadn’t gone over Topeka crime statistics maps and didn’t know which neighborhoods could be defined as high-crime areas.
“But if I was afraid to go out at night because it was unsafe, I would say we ought to talk about it in our neighborhood,” he said of the curfew concept.
Topeka Police Chief Ron Miller said this past week that he is open to putting a curfew in place as long as any attempt to establish it involves the community and any action that is taken is supported by the community.
Different parts of the community will view a curfew differently, so communication and partnership will be needed to determine whether Topeka should institute a curfew, Miller said.
The city of Wichita’s website says the city’s curfew calls for those 15 and younger to be home by 11 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays and by midnight Fridays and Saturdays. Minors ages 16 and 17 must be home by midnight on Sundays through Thursdays and 1 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights. The curfew lasts each morning until 6 a.m.
Lawrence’s website says that city’s curfew calls for those 17 and younger to be home by 11 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays and by 12:30 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights. That curfew lasts each morning until 6 a.m.
Manhattan’s website indicates its curfew calls for those 17 and younger to be home by 12:01 a.m. on Sunday through Thursday nights and by 1 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights. The curfew lasts each morning until 5 a.m.
Curfew ordinances in Wichita, Lawrence and Manhattan all outline specific circumstances in which it is legal for minors to be out during curfew hours.
Comments (70)
Okay Now How to enforce a curfew in a Sixty sqr mile area,,,
HMMMMMmmmmmmmm,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
OKAY WE"LL NEED MORE POLICE!
If I lived in certain areas, I might feel safer if EVERYBODY
had a curfew.
But I don't guess they'll make laws just to make ME happy.
I think Bunten watches too much tv.
Bad boys, Bad boys, What'cha gonna do when they come for you?
In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage.
--John Steinbeck
I Know One thing for certain.
Everybody better have their ID's.
I'd be more worried about the adult's that are
committing all the crimes. Ya know, all the experienced repeat offender's that they
keep letting back on the street's with a slap on the wrist. Their the 1's teaching the kid's the
rope's. I've noticed going on the Shawnee Co. District court website that there is alot of the
same offender's that get off on probation time after time only to repeat the same offense or
worse. Just like the woman in the van the other morning with the husband that was robbing
the delivery drivers. You gonna tell me this woman in the same vehicle had no clue what her
husband was doing? They should both have been arrested for having them kid's with them.
Most juvenile's that commit crime's are usually with an adult that's committing crime's.
Do they post when they arrest a juvenile?
No names, of course, but do they post the crime every time they arrest a teen?
In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage.
--John Steinbeck
I don't see putting a curfew
in one area and not another. If they're going to do it, make it citywide.
"Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity"... author unknown.
Lucinda, I don't know. Topeka has the oddest way
of doing thing's I've ever seen. I suppose the crime's committed in Topeka, if not
published in an article would still be reported in the daily police or sheriff's report's.
Maybe they should focus their attention ON the
high crime area's. That might help!!
High Crime Area? Pretty much the whole town.
You'd never believe it, Mr. Mayor! Kids these days have horseless carriages which allow them to zoom all over the City! Not only that, but they have magical devices which let them send words through the air to each other!
It's time to call down the City for failing to take control of crime, and to call down the supposed leaders of the community for failing to get behind the police:
How about we fill the vacancies on the police department and get the cops on the street?
How about Sonny and his bunch get on the side of the people who are trying to do right by their kids and community?
A curfew looks like an easy way to make it LOOK like you're doing something, rather than actually doing something. It will just build up animosity among those young people who are enjoying their life in a free country and suddenly get treated like criminals, and you lose even more respect for the law.
more of the finest...................
look above to see why the nation laughs about Topeka, KS.
Doesn't it just make ya PROUD?
I'm Rick James, baby~
not a fan of the "junk in the trunk", your Tramp-stamp says it all.....ignorance and arrogance, they both go hand in hand
Won't work....
That.is.all
"She's the queen of the bees, that buzz in the bars....fresh as a strawberry, and then she always loved dancing" - Perry Farrell
I think teenagers are the
I think teenagers are the least of my worries. Like Andrew Gray said, their method of deciding which parts of town get curfews will likely be based solely on socioeconomic/racial factors. The crime map looks pretty spread out to me.
The stuff they come up with. . .
Stoopid Stoopid Stoopid.
Stupid!
Happiness is not a destination. It is a method of life. ~ Burton Hills
Mr. Inappropriate
is at it again........ " in some parts of town". Just how does that fly? The kids in the x side of town are ok, but those kids on the y side of town are just up to no good!!! Sounds like another lawsuit brewing.
Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the face. - Mike Tyson
He could always erect a wall ,, Keep the bad kids in,, Good kids
OUT! But that cost money,,, not only for the fence but for the lawsuits too.
Just hire more police,,,,
GOOD POLICE!
The mayor is now in love with his face on tv.
He want's Jay Leno to give him another fifteen minutes of fame.
God knows what he'll come up with next... we ALL have to wear hoodies?
In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage.
--John Steinbeck
Curfew
Should be no need for a curfew for kids under 17...MOM &/or DAD keep them home on a school night and they get their homework done and spend time with the family. Then, on weekends and over the summer MOM &/or DAD keep them inside at a reasonable hour.
A suggestion:
Send out a questionaire in every Topeka Water bill.
Do you want a curfew in your neighborhood?
What age?
What time of the night?
Send it to every neighborhood in Topeka.
Don't mess with the numbers. Just do what the results say you should do. Let some disinterested people do the tallying of the responses. Otherwise, we won't trust the results.
Btw, our 14 year old and his friend, the same age, just played basketball in our back yard and it's 11 p.m. I made them be quiet. I did hear a giggle or two, but that was it.
I suppose if you're in your own yard you should be able to be outside.
In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage.
--John Steinbeck
Let's think about this...
My thoughts are that the ones that are in "high crime areas" will just go over to the "non-high crime areas" and cause a ruckus over in the "good" parts of town. Is this really that hard to think up? Not that some of the posts are not right in that those who abide by the curfew would be the good kids anyway because those committing the crimes OBVIOUSLY do not care about the law anyway.
I am quite concerned that those in authorities seem to have lost their ability to think. First it is let's ban caps and hoodies and now it's let's make a curfew for the bad parts of town. We are grasping at straws here and nobody is coming up with a viable solution to the crime issue. First, and foremost, we need to engage our brains a little bit and think like the criminals do... that will be the first step in solving the issues. (Not that any of us are criminals but eliminating caps and hoodies along with adding a curfew for those not so wonderful parts of town isn't going to do anything... )
*It is always better to keep your mouth shut and give the impression that you are stupid than open your mouth and remove all doubt!*
CITY WIDE OR NONE
The discussion should only be considered Iif it is CITY WIDE. To consider it for only certain areas IS NOT AN OPTION in my opinion.
Hoodies and curfews are the least of the problem.
I really don't remember any bad guys ever saying that "I would have robbed that store, but darn it I had a hoodie on and couldn't go in."
Curfews are pretty much the same way. The kids who don't cause any big trouble will be home and watching TV. The kids who do cause the trouble won't be hindered by a curfew at all. They aren't afraid of the system now.....how will a curfew help?
Further I would think this is an 'all or nothing' situation. How and who will decide what areas will have a curfew. Either the whole city or give it up.
sooo
if we put a cerfew in high crime areas, they will just go to the uncurfew areas to hang out... prob should just be city wide maybe the city should find things for teens to do
I am not necessarily opposed
I am not necessarily opposed to a curfew, but I would have to see something that highly indicated that most of the crime in those areas is being committed by those 17 and younger. If not, a curfew does not accomplish anything.
We'll all be safe if we
Put a curfew on the mayor . . . and another on sammie!
In Some Parts of Town?
So a minor gets stopped in area with no curfew and has to show ID. Will they violate the curfew because the address on the ID says they live in an area with a curfew or is the minor safe because he/she is in a curfew-free area? What about a minor from a curfew-free area in a curfew zone? This definitely will not work to have curfews in specific areas.
So now we go to a curfew for the entire city. Terrific! What about the minors who live outside the city limits, will they be subject to the curfew or is it just for those with legal residence inside the city limits? The good kids will obey the curfew because their parents will make them. The ones who will violate curfew are the kids who probably need their parents more involved. I don't see a citywide curfew working well, either.
I say we need to step up law enforcement, try to get parents to be parents and be proactive in giving our children reasons not to roam the streets looking for trouble.
The words thou shalt not are there for a reason.
It took one act of disobedience shortly after the first one to create the havoc we're living in. Are we having fun yet? Rejecting a perfect love is never without consequences. The evil one is having a heyday and that is the story since the fall. If a curfew is found to help, true colors may show. Paul says that our liberty is not to be license. I have a 15 year old, who tried to throw the Constitution in my face the other day. Children should not be abused, but the first commandment with promise for children is found in Ephesians 6:1. Unless a parent is teaching a child to break the law, morally or civilly they are subject to their parents. That God's law, which at the time of judgment and is in effect today, will be found to put the Constitution to shame. It takes a lot of faith and courage to be a parent or a leader who cares enough to discipline their child or charges in a world system which increasingly shows the fulfillment of who its father is. It takes courage to stand for right and put aside our "rights" for the greater good. Most of us know what the opposite of courage is.
Curfews don't work
Bunten wants to turn back the clock. It's 2012 buddy.
All for it
I agree that the curfew needs to be for the entire City of Topeka. I know when I was younger and we were out past the propsed hours, we were up to no good (not robbing ofcourse). If this gives TPD probable cause to stop someone, GREAT. I don't think this should be more than a citation when caught ( maybe one for the parents as well), with a 3rd strike and you get to see Judge Johnson.
Let's don't forget that 4 of the 9 involved with the Gibson homicide were teenagers!! If TPD could have pulled them over prior, ???? Yuuup the curfew was worth it.
why
make it in a high crime area that would just make it move to another side of town needs to in effect for entire city
Another-victim, no disrespect but that is why I say
that the adult's that are committing some of these crime's are recruiting the younger
1's to do the actual dirty work. But they are the 1's organizing the crime's. I doubt any of
these kid's would have been out climbing on roof's, creeping into people's home's & robbing
them while they slept & carrying gun's without the help or direction of the adult's that were
involved. They are learning it from already experienced criminal's.