Indianapolis City-County Council introduces proposal to penalize parents of children who violate cur

INDIANAPOLIS - Marion County parents may soon begin to face fines if their kids violate Marion County curfew rules.




If Proposal No. 245 - which was introduced at an Indianapolis City-County Council meeting Monday night - is passed, parents may face fines of up to $1,500 if their children violate curfew rules.




Per the proposal, parents will receive a written notice from the City of Indianapolis the first time their children break curfew rules. A fine of $500 will be levied against parents if their children are out past curfew a second time. Fines of $1,500 will be issued to parents when their children violate curfew rules three or more times.




As of Monday evening, Proposal No. 245 was still being considered by the council. It has not been approved by the council and will not go into effect until it receives a green light from the full council.




The proposed penalty system for parents is part of the City of Indianapolis' effort to ramp up curfew enforcement in Marion County.




On Monday, the Indianapolis City-County Council approved a measure that will change Marion County's curfew rules for juveniles.




Under the old rules, kids aged 15 to 17 were allowed to be out in public until 1 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. Juveniles aged 15 to 17 could be out until 11 p.m. from Sunday through Thursday under the old rules.




The new rules, which were laid out in Proposal No. 232, require juveniles aged 15 to 17 to be home by 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Kids aged 15 to 17 must be home by 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday under Proposal No. 232.




Under the old curfew rules, kids under the age of 15 were required to be home by 11 p.m. daily. Proposal No. 232 mandates children younger than 15 be home by 9 p.m. daily.




Curfew rules will still expire at 5 a.m. daily in Marion County.




"These updates are about keeping our young people safe and our neighborhoods secure," Councilor Leroy Robinson, Chair of the Public Safety and Criminal Justice Committee, said via release. "The earlier curfew hours, combined with stronger accountability for parents, give us another tool to prevent dangerous situations before they happen.




"We are grateful to our colleagues, IMPD, and community partners for working together on a measure that focuses on prevention, encourages parents to take an active role, and works hand-in-hand with law enforcement to protect our youth."




Previous reporting indicates that the curfew rules laid out in Proposal No. 232 will expire within 120 days of their implementation unless further action is taken by the council.




Juveniles found to be in violation of Marion County curfew rules will be taken to a new "safe, secure location" established by the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department. The agency did not specify where the facility is, but it indicated juveniles will have access to food, mentorship programs, mental health support initiatives and education assistance and job readiness programs if they are taken to the facility.




According to IMPD, parents will have an opportunity to pick their children up from the facility after they are brought there. Should IMPD be unable to make contact with certain parents, officers may take the children of those parents to the Juvenile Detention Center for a curfew violation, which is considered a status offense. IMPD also clarified that curfew-related detentions will not be considered full arrests. Therefore, such detentions will not appear on juveniles' permanent records.




IMPD and the City of Indianapolis' recent effort to ramp up curfew enforcement comes on the heels of a mass shooting that left two juveniles dead and five other people injured in downtown Indianapolis. The shooting occurred on July 5, and four juveniles were arrested for their alleged roles in the shooting on July 7.




The July 5 incident was the second mass shooting involving juveniles in downtown Indianapolis since 2024. On March 31, 2024, seven juveniles were injured in a shooting that happened at the corner of Illinois and Maryland Streets.




As of this article's publication, it is unclear what the next steps for Proposal No. 245 are. The council's public safety and criminal justice committee is slated to convene on Aug. 13 at 5:30 p.m. The next full meeting of the city-county council is slated for Sept. 8.





via: https://fox59.com/news/indianapolis-city-county-council-introduces-proposal-to-penalize-parents-of-children-who-violate-curfew-rules/