Tampa teen curfew: City leaders delay vote on proposal aimed at curbing crime
TAMPA, Fla. - On Thursday, Tampa City Council decided to delay a vote on a curfew for teens and kids under the age of 16, citing the need for more information before voting on the issue.
The idea for this iteration of a youth curfew came in response to October’s shooting in Ybor City that left two dead and 16 others wounded. The shooting happened around 3 a.m., and one of the suspects arrested afterward was 14 and one of the two killed was also just 14.
That last minute decision to delay voting came during Thursday’s meeting and was a welcomed decision by many of the parents and community groups in attendance.
Tampa Police Chief Lee Bercaw discusses a possible curfew with city leaders and residents.
"Rushing to make a decision on this curfew was going to strip away the community to be a part of the city’s decision-making process," said Mimi Martinez, an Ybor Heights resident.
Many shared concerns about how police would enforce it and what types of interaction they would be having with teenagers. They felt the curfew would disproportionally target teens from marginalized communities.
"Now you have a potential of ‘walking while Black,’ so this was not a good deal based on passed practices of the Tampa Police Department," said Yvette Lewis, the president of the NAACP Hillsborough County branch.
Instead, many asked the council to take the time to work with community groups to help find solutions to teen violence.
"In the communities, there is no place for these kids to go, for them to play and to hang out and to be safe and to be kids," Lewis said. "Let’s give them some place to go, let's create that place."
Some neighbors who support the curfew shared their fear of the violence in their neighborhood.
Tampa Police Chief Lee Bercaw speaks at previous council meeting about proposed teen curfew.
"These kids have guns. We have to do something to hold parents accountable. It's going to take all of us to make this work," said Noreen Copeland-Miller. "If it saves one life, pass it."
Council members on Thursday voted unanimously to wait to make a decision while they gather more information, listen to the community and speak with subject-matter experts. The City council did not set a date for when they would decide on the teen curfew ordinance.
"I am heartened and proud of this council and this city for not taking the easy way out," Council member Lynn Hurtak. "The easy thing would have been to simply approve this ordinance, the hard thing to do is to actually do the work and provide something for our kids to do.
READ: Ybor City shooting: Teen suspect appears to apologize for killing 20-year-old in police interview
The Tampa Police Department was expected to provide an update on youth crime statistics ahead of the debate over the curfew. TPD Chief Lee Bercaw sent the council a memo, outlining teen crime data from this last year.
The memo states that in 2023, TPD officers encountered 1,540 minors during the proposed curfew hours of 12 a.m. to 6 a.m. Saturday and Sunday and 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. Sunday to Thursday. Those juveniles were either an offender, a suspect, a witness or a victim themselves. More than half – 871 juveniles – were under the age of 16.
Police arrested 47 kids, younger than 16 years old, during proposed curfew hours, for a part one, or serious, offense.
Police car and crime scene tape at scene of deadly shooting in Ybor City.
The chief’s memo also briefly discusses similar curfews in other Florida cities, but lacks statistics that might shed light on those programs’ efficacy, something that’s likely to fuel the fire among those on city council who are inclined to vote against a curfew.
In December, the curfew narrowly advanced (4-2) to Thursday's second reading. Chairman Guido Maniscalco stated he’d vote in favor of moving forward for further discussion purposes, but stated that he had strong questions and concerns about whether curfews actually work to keep teens out of trouble.
That concern was shared by at least three other council members, which prompted a directive to TPD to provide statistics on other cities that have similar curfews in place.
READ: 'There's Good in Ybor' rally helps raise money for solutions to violence after deadly shooting
"Why would we put a burden on police officers and potentially commit civil rights violations if we don't even know if it's worked in any other cities?" asked Councilman Bill Carlson.
According to the memo, about 10% of cities in Florida have some sort of youth curfew on the books, including major cities like Miami, Jacksonville, and Ft. Lauderdale. But, Bercaw says those cities weren’t able to provide clear data or studies on whether their curfews had actually reduced the number of incidents involving young teens.
"We were unable to find any law enforcement agencies anywhere in the country that report on a public website any statistics on juvenile curfew enforcement," wrote Bercaw.
File: Tampa City Council
He also included a bleak review of nationally conducted studies.
"Research on the effectiveness of juvenile curfew laws has been largely inconclusive," wrote Bercaw.
Click here to read Bercaw’s memo.