New curfew in effect for all minors 16+ in Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- A new curfew for Philadelphia teens ages 17 and under is now in effect.

When the clock struck 10 p.m. Thursday, they all should have been home or in a safe place.

The new summer curfew will remain in effect until September 29.

"I think it's a very good idea. They need to be home in the house in that time of night so they won't hurt nobody and nobody is gonna hurt them," said Cheryl Grier of Olney.

Previously, teens ages 17 and 16 were allowed to be out until midnight.

Children ages 14 and 15 already had a 10 p.m. curfew.

The curfew remains unchanged for those 13 and under - they must be in by 9:30 p.m.

It's the city's latest effort to try and keep teens safe and away from criminal activity.

Councilwoman Katherine Gilmore Richardson proposed the bill.

"We're seeing our young people involved in more criminal incidents, criminal activity simply because they're out late," said Richardson.

So far in 2022, 107 children under 18 have now been shot and tragically 19 of them have been killed.

So the councilwoman's message is simple: "If you're under 18, you need to be in the house by 10 o'clock."

If minors violate the curfew, Philadelphia Police Department officers will first attempt to reunite them with their families.

If that's not possible, officers will either take the children to one of two community evening resource centers or take them back to the police station to try to reunite them with their families there.

One evening resource center is located at the Community of Compassion CDC at 6150 Cedar Avenue and the other is the Diversified Community Services-Dixon House at 1920 S. 20th Street.

They operate between 7 p.m. and 2 a.m., and the city's youth is encouraged to go to the evening centers and utilize their resources all summer.

"They have wonderful fun activities, financial literacy classes. They have drone classes, photography classes and everything you can imagine," said Richardson.

The bill does provide exceptions for the teens if there are legitimate reasons. Those include work and errands. There's also leeway for those who are with a guardian.

There will be no fines for violators.