Chicago alderman negotiates new 'snap curfew' policy to prevent teen gatherings
Chicago officials negotiate new "snap curfew" policy to prevent teen gatherings
Chicago Ald. Brian Hopkins said he is working on a proposed "snap curfew" policy to help prevent violent teen gatherings.
CHICAGO - A new proposal would give the Chicago police superintendent the authority to put a three-hour snap curfew in place for teenagers in response to the teen-trend gatherings that have at times turned violent.
Previous versions of the proposal gave police district commanders the authority to declare the snap curfew, but Ald. Brian Hopkins (2nd Ward) said he negotiated the final proposal with the mayor and chairs of the City Council Budget and Finance committees.
What we know:
Under the new rules, the superintendent would be able to announce a 30-minute warning to declare a three-hour curfew at any time of the day in any part of the city.
"It’s a temporary curfew that can be invoked whenever it’s needed, 3 in the morning or 3 in the afternoon, dictated by events happening on the streets," Hopkins said. "It gives the superintendent flexibility that the original of my ordinance didn’t have, so it’s not only a compromise, it’s superior."
One of the chief questions: how will police officials inform teens of the ordinance?
Hopkins says CPD will go where they are: social media.
"We can use those same channels to send messages to the teens," Hopkins said. "If we declare a curfew at a certain time and place, the object is to get the teens to think maybe it’s not the time and place to have a teen trend."
The other side:
But legal groups say the compromise is still likely unconstitutional and they will challenge it in court.
The National Lawyer's Guild issued a statement saying they were "alarmed" at the proposal, saying, "This approach has the serious potential to violate people's due process rights to have notice of what conduct is prohibited or illegal. There are already laws in place that address harmful or violent conduct by individuals or groups, regardless of whether a curfew is in place. Broadening CPD's powers to declare curfews and arrest our city's young people at gatherings is not the answer."
Hopkins says he has more than enough votes to pass the ordinance.
What's next:
It is set for a vote in the council’s Public Safety Committee on Wednesday morning. If successful, it goes to the full City Council for approval next week.