Thursday, July 01, 1999
Covington may look at day curfew
Layers of legal issues involved
BY CINDY SCHROEDER and RAY SCHAEFER
The Cincinnati Enquirer
COVINGTON — Officials may discuss the prospect of a daytime curfew for juveniles at the annual meeting of the city commission and school board.
The issue surfaced Tuesday when Covington resident Rose Bresser asked her city commission to look into adopting a daytime curfew for juveniles during the school year.
Ms. Bresser said that her home had been burglarized May 17 by school-age youths.
“It hasn't been a front-burner issue with us, but we can take another look at it,” Covington City Manager Greg Jarvis said Wednesday. “I'm sure we'll talk about it with the school board when we meet with them in a couple of weeks.”
The Covington City Commission and the Covington school board are tentatively scheduled to meet July 13 to discuss issues of common concern. No time or place has been set.
Lt. Col. Bill Dorsey, a Covington assistant police chief, said he has looked into a daytime curfew for juveniles in a preliminary way. “We haven't established any parameters, (such as) whether it would apply to suspended school-age kids, or all school-age kids,” he said.
Such curfews often pose difficult legal issues, Mr. Jarvis said.
“I'm also not certain how effective a daytime curfew would be. You'd have to convince me, ” he said. “There are other ways of combatting crime and dealing with problem kids that may be more effective.”
Mr. Jarvis said he would like to see Kentucky legislators address the juvenile code, as it relates to violent crimes.
“Kentucky's laws are particularly weak, and it's an obstacle for us in urban areas,” Mr. Jarvis said. “We need to get some laws with teeth in them that address these street punks.”
Lt. Col. Dorsey said that any kind of daytime juvenile curfew could not be put into effect quickly, largely because of legal issues.
“Curfews of any type are not to protect the general public from juveniles. They are to protect the juvenile from being a victim,” Lt. Col. Dorsey said. “You should be able to show that you need (the curfew) to protect the juvenile to make it constitutionally acceptable.”
James Kemp, superintendent of the Covington Independent Public School District, said a daytime curfew could happen only through a city ordinance and would have to apply to all students, not just those from his school district. He said Covington children also attend Ludlow, Kenton County and Diocese of Covington schools, as well as other private schools. Some are home-schooled.
“It'll be a tough issue for the city, if that's the way they decide to go,” Mr. Kemp said. “But whichever way (the city goes), the school district will support them.”
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