Summertime crime: does it increase for juveniles?
Posted: 06.03.2009 at 6:31 PM

City's curfew helps curb the violations

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AMARILLO, TEXAS -- Most students are out of school for the summer, and with all that free time, ProNews 7 wondered, "Does juvenile crime go up this time of the year?"

Amarillo Crime Stoppers officers told Pronews 7 Wednesday that curfew violations and vandalisms might go up, but not enough to be significant.

"Certain crimes like runaways may go up, simply because kids are out later and may not come home at all. Vandalisms also go up -- things that are done at night, those types of things go up," officer Dale Powers said.

Something that curbs those nighttime crimes is the city's curfew.

Powers said the curfew for juveniles is a city ordinance, and kids who are 16 and younger need to be home by midnight, unless they're headed directly to or from a job.

And if they're caught breaking curfew, it's a Class C Misdemeanor with a fine of up to $500.