Neena Satija Photo
Dwight’s Bianca Bowles and Curlena McDonald.
It’s Saturday, 2 a.m. A 16-year-old boy is hanging out at Chapel and Day. If activists in the Dwight neighborhood have their way, police could ask the boy what he’s doing out late, and if he doesn’t have a good excuse, they’ll escort him home.
Then the parents would be slapped with a $150 fine.
That’s the scenario the Dwight Central Management Team (DCMT) discussed at a meeting Monday night with neighbors, who spent about an hour and a half debating the logistics of a proposed curfew for kids under 17.
The DCMT is one of 10 community management teams across the city run by residents within the Dwight district. It is preparing a proposal for a curfew of 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. on weekdays and 10:30 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. on weekends.
“Anybody under 17 is fair game, and we want them off the streets,” said Bianca Bowles, the DCMT’s secretary. Exceptions would be made for kids traveling to and from jobs or responding to emergencies, as well as from school, religious, or civic-sponsored events.
Dwight, which struggles with violent youth-driven crime in the Kensington Street area, has generated curfew proposals before; New Haven at large has rejected them. In 2006, then-Dwight Alderwoman Joyce Chen proposed a citywide curfew. It was axed after much of the community fought back, in part with public hearings where teens asked for more parenting instead of a curfew.
Now Dwight neighbors are trying again, arguing that violence in New Haven has reached a breaking point. They said programs aimed at better parenting aren’t enough.
“If some neighborhoods don’t want it, that’s fine,” said Curlena McDonald, vice-chair of the DCMT. “But we’re going to push it through our people [the aldermen for Wards 23 and 2, covering the West River and Dwight neighborhoods]. And I’m sure if the Board of Aldermen takes it up, they’re not going to try to address just one neighborhood.”
Among the many questions posed by the 20 or so people gathered at the police substation Monday night: Is 9 p.m. really a reasonable time to begin a curfew? Should kids who are out for legitimate reasons provide some proof — for instance, should someone with a job present cops with a signed letter? And what happens if an officer brings a kid home and the parents are nowhere to be found?
As people voiced their concerns, Bowles took detailed notes. Seated next to her in the front of the room, McDonald and the DCMT chair Florita Gillespie. They acknowledged some neighbors’ concerns. Carleton Edwards, for instance, argued that 9 p.m. may be too early since many stores that teens may work at don’t close until 10.
Also high on the list of people’s concerns was how the police would approach kids on the street late at night. “I’m thinking about a police officer coming at my son with this mentality, and I’m just not having it,” said one parent. “I’m choking up right now because of this conversation.”
McDonald said the next step is to work with area police on how the curfew should be enforced. “We’re hoping they’ll handle it in a way that’s going to be respectful, but I’m sure we’re going to have incidents,” she said.
Ward 2 aldermanic candidates Frank Douglass and Doug Bethea both showed up to the meeting and brought up the need for better parenting. “I really believe that we need to shake parents,” said Douglass, pointing to parenting classes as one way to enforce a curfew.
“I Don’t Care What The Parents Say”
Bethea said it would be a better idea to invite parents who may oppose the idea to a community meeting. Gillespie shot him down, saying the DCMT had tried that tactic several times before without success.
“Personally, I don’t care what the parents say,” she said, her voice rising. “Let’s get the curfew in place first, then invite the parents.”
Gillespie said she plans to send the comments and the proposal to Police Lt. Ray Hassett, Dwight’s top cop.
Contacted later, Hassett was asked later if he thinks a curfew would work. “Absolutely,” he responded.
“It’s a little bit labor-intensive, but you’ve got to do it,” he said. “Once the word gets out that you’re enforcing this, then people basically are a little more aware of the consequence.”
Next up on the DCMT agenda — once (and if) they’re able to get city officials to seriously consider a curfew — is policing youth gangs, Gillespie said.