KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City's teen curfew is back for the summer, but will it be enough to quell violence?
This curfew states that people 18 and under have a 9 p.m. curfew in Kansas City in entertainment districts including the 18th & Vine District, the Central Business District in Downtown Kansas City, the Country Club Plaza, the Westport Shopping District, and the Zona Rosa Shopping District.
The ordinance also states those in that age group are not allowed to be out without a parent or guardian in public spaces. The law first took effect in 2011.
The curfew is in effect through Sunday, September 29. Kansas City, Mo., police said if a child is found in violation of the curfew, they could be detained. The child's parent or guardian will be issued a citation with a fine. That could range from $125 to $500.
"We should be bettering our city instead of adding to the trouble," 18-year-old Roniya Celestine, who grew up in Kansas City, said. "It can always be wrong place, wrong time. Anything can happen and you can be part of anything."
Roniya Celestine has been an active member of the group Ladies of Vision and Empowerment (LOVE) for years. The group helped her and other Kansas City teens explore academics, interests, volunteering and more. They even helped her earn scholarships for college.
She's watched groups like LOVE help change the course of some of her friend's lives, too.
"Especially late at night in Kansas City urban areas, it's just not safe for kids who have the potential and the drive to be something different," Roniya said.
It's why LOVE's president, DeJuanna Lee, doesn't feel a curfew is enough.
"The ones that are out at that time aren't being supervised anyways. The ones that are behaving aren't out at that time of night," DeJuanna said. "If we can get them in programs and environments to let them know one, who they are, whose they are, and let them know that they have a voice, and that fighting and killing is not the answer."
LOVE works alongside MOVE, which stands for Men of Vision and Empowerment. MOVE Board of Directors member Carl Boyd also doesn't feel the curfew is enough.
"We have seen far too much violence among those young enough to have to observe a curfew," he said.
Boyd feels a curfew needs to be enforced at home first, and that organizations like LOVE and MOVE should only be supplementing the relationships between schools and homes.
"To suggest a curfew without someone who is in a position to make sure it is observed? It has no meaning," Carl said.
