City councilmembers think getting rid of Atlanta curfew fines could help keep kids inside

ATLANTA — The City of Atlanta may stop issuing fines against parents whose children break the city’s 11 p.m. curfew.

Some members of the Atlanta City Council say dropping the fines, could help with curfew enforcement.

Channel 2′s Richard Elliot has been at Atlanta City Hall all day as the council remains in session debating making changes to the curfew.

Currently, breaking the 11 p.m. curfew comes with jail time and a $1,000 fine.

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Once councilwoman told Elliot that she believes those are the reasons the curfew isn’t enforced. By getting rid of the penalties, she believes that the city will do a better job of enforcing it.

“We feel like we have the support to get it through,” Councilman Antonio Lewis said.

Lewis and Councilwoman Keisha Sean Waites want to push the existing curfew back to keep teens 16 and younger off the streets two hours earlier.

“We got some young folks who are dying. We got some young folks outside stealing guns. We see it happening,” Lewis explained.

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A second measure being backed by Lewis and Waites would relax the punishment for breaking the curfew.

Waites says it is so severe that no one is enforcing it.

“The previous ordinance or curfew was never enforced for this reason. We did not want to criminalize our children and overwhelm and burden our parents,” she explained.

Instead, the first offense breaking curfew will earn a phone call to the parents. On the second offense, the child and parents would get 60 days of classes, like a DUI court.

“You and your guardian or parents will have to be part of a program for 60 days. After that 60 days, that will be deleted,” Lewis said.

The city council approved both measures just before 5 p.m. It’s unclear when they will go into effect.

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