IMPD seeks sustainability to curfew crackdown

INDIANAPOLIS - With no detainments for youth curfew violations this past weekend in Indianapolis, IMPD and its community partners will seek a sustainable solution for summer nights downtown at least until school starts next month.




"I'm very proud of the community as a whole and all of the law enforcement partners to show what we can do when our kids lives are at stake. It takes all of us," said IMPD Deputy Chief Tanya Terry. "What we saw this weekend is exactly what we wanted to see: we saw a lot of kids and family out and they had adults with them. They were doing what families should be doing. They were taking advantage of all the events and they were together."

Terry said IMPD will staff downtown on weekend nights alongside Indiana State Police troopers based on anticipation of large event crowds.




"Our standard level of presence remains. We know weekend nights downtown are busy," she said. "As far as the safe and secure location for our kids, that's up to our community partners."




Heather Savage of "Let Them Talk" was one of those community partners standing by at a reunification center ready to accept incoming curfew violators to await parents or guardians to take them home.




"It was a pretty quiet weekend," said Savage. "IMPD was out patrolling all the hot spots outside of downtown in the parks and different areas and kids were not out gathering in groups after curfew."




Savage said the public attention and calls from city and community leaders for adults to look after their children supported parents who had been arguing in vain for youngsters not to visit downtown unattended.




"Kids will definitely see how far they can go but when you set the expectations early, you set the foundation early, it doesn't take a lot to reel them back in," she said. "We're not trying to make this punitive, we're making this a thing where punishments are necessarily involved. We just want to keep them safe and I think the kids are seeing and knowing that there are people who actually care about you."




Savage said the cooperation and communication between community groups and IMPD opened up possibilities for future programs such as Thursday evening's skating party at Roller Cave at 8734 East 21^st Street where accompanied youngsters are welcomed with their families.



via: https://fox59.com/indiana-news/impd-seeks-sustainability-to-curfew-crackdown/