Home > So, what do you think? > Archives > 2008 > June > 24 > Entry
Does Rocky Mount need a curfew?
I hate to start with a “Back when I was a kid …” story, but …
Back when I was a kid, we lived pretty comfortably with a curfew. When it got dark and Mom or Dad walked out on the porch and hollered for us … that was our curfew.
That may be oversimplified nostalgia, but it worked fine a generation ago. Not so much today.
A Rocky Mount High School basketball player was shot and injured a few weeks ago, riding around in a car after 11:30 on a Saturday night. He wasn’t seriously hurt, and 11:30 wasn’t that late for a Saturday night, even when I was a teenager. But it’s not the same world today.
I can’t remember anyone worrying about bullets flying into a car when I was in high school. I certainly don’t remember anyone my age being shot.
Some members of Rocky Mount City Council are kicking around the idea of a curfew, in hopes of keeping more kids at home and out of trouble late at night. No specifics have been mentioned, but a similar ordinance in Kinston requires anyone under the age of 18 to be home by 11 p.m. Allowances are made for 16- and 17-year-olds who work or who are involved in school activities that keep them out later.
I would have balked at that policy when I was that age, but it doesn’t seem like such a bad idea now. It won’t put an end to crime, of course, but it might keep kids off the street during some of the most dangerous hours of the night.
It’s a shame to say it’s an idea whose time has come, but that might be the case. Better to listen to the kids complain while they’re safely at home than read about them in the police report later.
Comments
By C. Dancy II - TPA
June 24, 2008 11:58 PM | Link to this
It is about what is in the best interest of our future. That is our children. We all know that some children do not abide by the rules so therefore something needs to be put in place.
It is just tough that the children who abide by the rules must suffer however the question of the day for me is why does a child need to be out past 11:00 PM if they are not working?
Now mind you I was out late back in the day however I never got into any trouble. But times have changed and people have changed so therefore it is my opinion that a CURFEW is in order in today’s world.
By Jack
August 13, 2008 9:33 AM | Link to this
YES a curfew needs to be in place. Too many people have obtained guns not for protection but just to harm others, such as the case with the tow truck driver.
I agree with C. Dancy - what does a kid need to be out past 11:00 for unless they are working. I also think the punishment needs to be severe so they won’t keep doing it, unlike the punishment that the creep that shot that tow truck driver got.