28 AMERICAN POLICE BEAT: AUGUST 2017 P ublic safety ain’t rocket science. As matter of fact it’s basic arithmetic. Kids are up to no good – especially in the sum- mer when school’s out. So just make them stay in the house and crime falls off a cliff, right? It’s like one of those highly effective “gun free zones” people talk about. Just switch out “guns” for “kids.” Like a lot of complicated things that seem simple to many of us, it’s not that simple. There is one part that is pretty simple. Cities and counties stand to make a lot of money from curfew violations – as much as $500 or $600 for violating curfews. It’s not just the kids that will be paying the fines – parents, guardians, busi- nesses that cater to young people and others will all be forking over cash if anyone’s out past 8:00 PM. Which leads some peo- ple to ask a very basic question. “Do these curfew things work?” The answer appears to be no – but we’re talk- ing about tangible public safety results, not easy and feel-good political stunts designed to keep the right people happy. It shouldn’t be that hard to find out. New Orleans, Detroit, Columbia, South Carolina; all have 8 PM curfews. In Wilmington, Dela- ware, City Council Presi- dent Hanifa Shabazz in- troduced a proposal for a curfew saying it’s designed to keep kids safe. “It definitely will lower the number of innocent by- stander shootings,” she said. But that’s a tough sell when you look past the slogans and easy answers. Five of the nine juveniles shot so far this year in Wilmington were shot in the daytime. There are basically two schools of thought on how to increase safety among youths during the summer months. The first is to keep the kids off the street by any means necessary. But less radical and far more effective approach is increased police patrols. “People that are deter- mined to commit crime are going to commit crime, even if that means violat- ing a curfew,” said Jeffrey Horvath, executive direc- tor of the Delaware Police Chiefs’ Council. Horvath is a former police chief in Do- ver and Lewes. “I’ve never heard anything where a curfew has been a great success.” It might actually come down to a legal challenge on these curfews, although young kids generally don’t have as much in the way of resources to file lawsuits. If they did, the curfews would more than likely be con- sidered unconstitutional at best. But city kids don’t have the kind of money, political power and influence that some other groups some- times seem like they take for granted. My parents made me get a job. Now I just sign over the paycheck from Subway to the city every week because I “violated.” Thanks for teaching me about responsibility! Keep ‘em inside!