A 9 P.M. Curfew, and the Question Nobody Could Answer | CLT Daily

Description

Charlotte is close to adopting a 9 p.m. curfew for everyone under 18 — replacing the current patchwork of 10 and 11 p.m. rules. CMPD Chief Estella Patterson says it's about teen takeovers: six this summer, and roughly 40 more tracked online since May. She also says it isn't about criminalizing young people. But the City Council postponed its vote yesterday, because when members asked what actually happens to a 15-year-old picked up at 9:15 — and to that kid's parents — nobody had a clear answer. The enforcement is the policy, and Charlotte hasn't written it yet. Plus: CMS posts academic gains it can't distribute evenly while its superintendent stays on leave, and Charlotte FC goes for a sweep of three Liga MX clubs tonight.

CLT Daily — Charlotte's independent daily briefing. New episodes every morning. cltdaily.com

Sources this episode: WBTV, WRAL, WSOC, WCNC, WFAE.

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Transcription

Speaker #0
Something worth knowing before the news. The third Mexican club in eight days comes to Bank of America Stadium tonight, and this weekend uptown belongs to Pride, both at the end. But first, this is CLT Daily. I am Steve Baboulis. It's Tuesday, August 11th, your independent daily briefing for the Queen City. Today, Charlotte is close to a 9 p.m. curfew for everyone under 18. and the city council just postponed the vote because nobody could answer the most basic question about it. Here's the proposal. CMPD Chief Estella Patterson wants a single curfew, 9 p.m., every night, for anyone 17 or younger. Right now, the rules are patchwork. 10 p.m. for kids 12 and under, 11 for 13 to 15-year-olds. This would replace all of it with one line. What's driving it is teen takeovers. six of them in Charlotte this summer, and since May, police say they've tracked around 40 more being advertised online that didn't come off. These are large gatherings organized on social media, and Patterson says they sometimes turn violent when kids show up to settle a dispute in front of a crowd. Her words, I am very concerned that if we don't get a handle on this, the consequences may become fatal. She was also direct about what this isn't. Quote, We are not proposing to criminalize our youth. We will not be instituting curfew police. I take her at her word about the intent, but here's where yesterday's meeting went sideways. Council members asked, what actually happens to a 15-year-old who's out at 9-15? What happens to that kid? What happens to the parents? Whether anything follows them afterward? And there wasn't a clear answer. Multiple members said they weren't willing to vote without one. So the vote got pushed to a future meeting with no date. That's not a procedural hiccup. The enforcement is the policy. A curfew that ends with a ride home is a completely different law than a curfew that ends with a charge. And right now, Charlotte hasn't said which one it's riding. We do have one data point, though, from July at a teen takeover in University City. WMPD made 24 arrests that night. and cited 13 parents. That's the department's current practice at these events. Whether a curfew stop would work the same way is exactly what nobody could say yesterday. On the council, the split was thoughtful rather than partisan. District 1's Dante Anderson pushed the other direction, asking whether the current rules leave 13-year-olds out late enough to become victims themselves. District 4's Renee Johnson worried about, in her words, increasing interaction between youth and police on a negative basis. and what a record does to a kid afterward. And Dimple Aymara put the frame around all of it. Quote, We all know that a curfew is one tool, but at the end of the day, we must address the underlying issue, which is our bigger responsibility to ensure that kids have safe places to go. That last point is the one I'd keep an eye on. A 9 p.m. curfew tells young people where they can't be. It doesn't tell them where they can. All right, here's what else you need to know today. Two things out of Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools, and they're both about the same problem. The board held a retreat focused on communication and leadership, while the investigation into Superintendent Crystal Hill continues. She's been on paid leave since June 17th, and there's still no public explanation and still no date for the update the board promised. Separately, new numbers show academic gains across the district, but achievement gaps that have barely moved. School starts in 14 days. and federal aid is now available for North Carolina businesses hurt by this year's drought. If you farm, or you supply people who do, that's worth looking into this week rather than next. Now, as promised, Charlotte FC hosts Pachuca tonight at 7.30, the third Liga MX club in eight days after beating Pumas 3-0 and Atlas 2-0. Win this one, and they've swept all three. And Charlotte Pride takes over Uptown Saturday and Sunday, free. And the full preview is coming later this week. That's CLT Daily for Tuesday, August 11th. I'm Steve Baboulis. We'll be back tomorrow. Same time, same city. Until then, Charlotte, take care of each other.

Description

CLT Daily — Charlotte's independent daily briefing. New episodes every morning. cltdaily.com

Sources this episode: WBTV, WRAL, WSOC, WCNC, WFAE.

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Transcription

Speaker #0
Something worth knowing before the news. The third Mexican club in eight days comes to Bank of America Stadium tonight, and this weekend uptown belongs to Pride, both at the end. But first, this is CLT Daily. I am Steve Baboulis. It's Tuesday, August 11th, your independent daily briefing for the Queen City. Today, Charlotte is close to a 9 p.m. curfew for everyone under 18. and the city council just postponed the vote because nobody could answer the most basic question about it. Here's the proposal. CMPD Chief Estella Patterson wants a single curfew, 9 p.m., every night, for anyone 17 or younger. Right now, the rules are patchwork. 10 p.m. for kids 12 and under, 11 for 13 to 15-year-olds. This would replace all of it with one line. What's driving it is teen takeovers. six of them in Charlotte this summer, and since May, police say they've tracked around 40 more being advertised online that didn't come off. These are large gatherings organized on social media, and Patterson says they sometimes turn violent when kids show up to settle a dispute in front of a crowd. Her words, I am very concerned that if we don't get a handle on this, the consequences may become fatal. She was also direct about what this isn't. Quote, We are not proposing to criminalize our youth. We will not be instituting curfew police. I take her at her word about the intent, but here's where yesterday's meeting went sideways. Council members asked, what actually happens to a 15-year-old who's out at 9-15? What happens to that kid? What happens to the parents? Whether anything follows them afterward? And there wasn't a clear answer. Multiple members said they weren't willing to vote without one. So the vote got pushed to a future meeting with no date. That's not a procedural hiccup. The enforcement is the policy. A curfew that ends with a ride home is a completely different law than a curfew that ends with a charge. And right now, Charlotte hasn't said which one it's riding. We do have one data point, though, from July at a teen takeover in University City. WMPD made 24 arrests that night. and cited 13 parents. That's the department's current practice at these events. Whether a curfew stop would work the same way is exactly what nobody could say yesterday. On the council, the split was thoughtful rather than partisan. District 1's Dante Anderson pushed the other direction, asking whether the current rules leave 13-year-olds out late enough to become victims themselves. District 4's Renee Johnson worried about, in her words, increasing interaction between youth and police on a negative basis. and what a record does to a kid afterward. And Dimple Aymara put the frame around all of it. Quote, We all know that a curfew is one tool, but at the end of the day, we must address the underlying issue, which is our bigger responsibility to ensure that kids have safe places to go. That last point is the one I'd keep an eye on. A 9 p.m. curfew tells young people where they can't be. It doesn't tell them where they can. All right, here's what else you need to know today. Two things out of Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools, and they're both about the same problem. The board held a retreat focused on communication and leadership, while the investigation into Superintendent Crystal Hill continues. She's been on paid leave since June 17th, and there's still no public explanation and still no date for the update the board promised. Separately, new numbers show academic gains across the district, but achievement gaps that have barely moved. School starts in 14 days. and federal aid is now available for North Carolina businesses hurt by this year's drought. If you farm, or you supply people who do, that's worth looking into this week rather than next. Now, as promised, Charlotte FC hosts Pachuca tonight at 7.30, the third Liga MX club in eight days after beating Pumas 3-0 and Atlas 2-0. Win this one, and they've swept all three. And Charlotte Pride takes over Uptown Saturday and Sunday, free. And the full preview is coming later this week. That's CLT Daily for Tuesday, August 11th. I'm Steve Baboulis. We'll be back tomorrow. Same time, same city. Until then, Charlotte, take care of each other.

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