Baltimore’s new curfew, among the nation’s strictest, takes effect today amid mixed reaction, with some parents saying it could help keep youths safe and experts noting that there’s no evidence that it will, the Baltimore Sun reports. Police will begin taking children out too late without supervision to one of two curfew centers, where they will be evaluated and their families connected to services. “The primary goal of all of this is to make sure young people who may be in challenging situations late at night are able to get home safely,” said Kevin Harris, a spokesman for Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake. “This isn’t a jail. This is a safe, youth-friendly environment, potentially a lot safer than where they might otherwise be late at night, like in front of a liquor store.”
The new curfew, which updates a law on the books for 20 years, requires children younger than 14 to be indoors by 9 p.m. Those 14, 15 and 16 can stay out until 10 p.m. on school nights and 11 p.m. on weekends and over the summer. Curfews in Philadelphia and Chicago are tougher for younger children, but roughly the same for older kids. In Philadelphia, those 13 and younger have to be inside at 8 p.m. during the school year and at 9 p.m. during the summer. New York and Boston do not have curfews.