Newark’s recently-posted juvenile curfew will begin early next month as part of the city’s newly-unveiled Summer Safety Initiative 2024.
The initiative will now begin on May 3 and in addition to the curfew, described as a “juvenile curfew engagement process,” it will include youth-oriented programs and services, city officials announced Thursday.
The curfew will be conducted on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays until June 21, when the school year ends. At that time, the juvenile curfew engagement process will be conducted seven days a week.
The curfew was originally slated to begin on April 12 but the rollout was postponed. Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka said he delayed it because he had logistical questions that have now been worked out.
Hours before Newark’s postponement was announced, the state ACLU’s policy director, Sarah Fajardo, issued a statement urging Newark officials “to reconsider the enforcement of a youth curfew.”
“Young people should always have the right to be out in public with friends and family,” the statement read. “Stricter curfews with increased police presence will not protect communities, and will instead put Black and brown youth at further risk of criminalization. Parents and guardians should be setting curfews for their children, not the city.”
The ACLU’s New Jersey chapter could not immediately be reached for comment on Newark’s postponed implementation of a youth curfew, which will run from 11 p.m. until 5:30 a.m.
During that time, Newark Police who observe unaccompanied minors on the streets during curfew hours will “peacefully engage the youth by requesting his or her name, age, address, and parental contact to memorialize the stop in a documented report before reaching out to the Office of Violence Prevention and Trauma Recovery (OVTPR),” city officials said in a release.
The officer will contact OVPTR’s Wellness Response Team, which is comprised of a licensed OVPTR social worker and/or outreach worker, who will be sent to the location where the officer is waiting with the youth to be picked up, authorities said. The Wellness Response Team will arrive in a City of Newark van, accompanied by a police officer as the minor is being taken home.
If a parent or guardian cannot be reached, the child will be taken to the city’s Re-Engagement Center where OVPTR staff will check them in and continue to try to reach someone who is responsible for them, officials said.
If that fails, the juvenile will be taken to a local hospital to receive a medical clearance, according to the release. If, after four hours in the hospital, no parent or guardian has been reached, the New Jersey Division of Child Protection and Permanency will be contacted.
Within 24 to 48 hours after the first contact with a youth out past curfew, OVPTR social workers and outreach workers will follow up with families via phone contact or by conducting a home visit with an assessment regarding eligibility for additional resources, authorities said.
“We’re beginning this summer with the end in mind,” Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka said. “Our primary objective is to ensure that all Newark residents, including our youth, enjoy a safe and fun-filled summer.”
In addition to the curfew the city’s summer offerings will range from Movie Nights to Pop-Up Play Streets, Cops & Kids events, Office of Violence Prevention and Trauma Recovery Director Kyleesha Wingfield-Hill said.
Newark Public Safety Director Fritz G. Fragé said the police department “wholeheartedly supports Summer Safety Initiative 2024.”
“The Cops & Kids program is one of my personal favorites because it offers Newark Police and our city’s youth opportunities to organically forge lasting bonds of trust. We look forward to each engagement opportunity that serves to strengthen police-community relations.”
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Chris Sheldon may be reached at csheldon@njadvancemedia.com.
