Curfew

PARENTS, DO YOU know where your children are? If not, it may cost you. City Council passed a stricter curfew measure yesterday that would impose a $75 fine - despite strong opposition and concerns about its effectiveness, overly aggressive policing and racial profiling. The bill, introduced by Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown on behalf of the Nutter administration, passed 15-1. Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell voted against it and Councilwoman Joan Krajewski was absent.

A nearly unanimous City Council passed a new youth curfew Thursday after a long and raucous hearing dominated by often-heated testimony against the measure. The 15-1 vote sent a chamber full of opponents into chants of, "Shame! Shame!" As they filed out, they chanted, "We need schools, not the curfew. " The bill's sponsor, Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown, praised those who spoke out, but said many of their concerns had been addressed in a bill the city needed.

The excessive criminalization of Philadelphia's young people has only pushed them toward flash mobs and other violent activities. Instead of responding with more criminalization - such as the city curfews instituted last summer - officials should be encouraging structured play, public spaces, and harmless social gatherings. Recent years have seen a decline in public spaces available to young people, Love Park being a famous example. As the city planner Edmund Bacon once wrote, "After decrying the drugs and crime of our young people, [City Council]

THE OCCUPATION came to City Council yesterday. Members of Occupy Philadelphia left their Dilworth Plaza encampment to join with dozens of people who are taking a stand against the latest city curfew bill, which stalled yesterday. The bill, introduced by Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown on behalf of the Nutter administration, follows temporary changes that the city made to curfew laws over the summer to address acts of violence committed by groups of young people. "Who's the curfew protecting?"

The deep fryer at Broadway Food Court in Camden is still boiling at 3 a.m. A month after Camden's business curfew took effect, it has yet to be enforced. In the meantime, a lawsuit filed by city activist Frank Fulbrook to reverse the ordinance is moving forward, with a trial date scheduled for May 8 in Superior Court. City officials are strategizing how to "adequately inform businesses" of the curfew, Mayor Dana L. Redd said Thursday. In an effort to curb crime, the Redd administration has been pushing since February to close businesses early, citing a correlation between crime and late-night businesses such as Chinese take-out stores and several Crown Fried Chicken stores.

THE OCCUPATION came to City Council on Thursday. Members of Occupy Philadelphia left their Dilworth Plaza encampment to join with dozens of people who are taking a stand against the latest city curfew bill, which stalled yesterday. The bill, introduced by Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown on behalf of the Nutter administration, follows temporary changes that the city made to curfew laws over the summer to address acts of violence committed by groups of youths. "Who's the curfew protecting?"

A City Council committee gave preliminary approval to a new curfew Wednesday, but added a sunset provision after hearing concerns that the law would be ineffective and violate the rights of minors. Council will ask the mayor's office to provide data on the curfew's effect before its proposed expiration in December 2013, said Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown, who sponsored the bill on behalf of Mayor Nutter. The mayor used an aggressive temporary curfew this summer to tamp down roving bands of youths - dubbed "flash mobs" - who were attacking random pedestrians in Center City.

A City Council committee gave preliminary approval to a new curfew Wednesday, but added a sunset provision after hearing concerns that the law would be ineffective and violate the rights of minors. Council will ask mayor's office to provide data on the curfew's impact before its proposed expiration in December 2013, said Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown, who sponsored the bill on behalf of Mayor Nutter. Nutter used an aggressive, temporary curfew this summer to tamp down roving bands of youths - dubbed "flash mobs" - who were attacking random pedestrians in Center City.