Starkville leaders get more clarity on how effective curfew for minors will be at lowering youth crime

STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – Tuesday, Starkville’s Board of Aldermen held its first public hearing to discuss the mayor’s proposal to adopt a city-wide curfew for minors.

“It was something that (got) me more comfortable with the idea of a curfew,” said Ward 2 Alderman Sandra Sistrunk. “It also gets me more comfortable with the idea that the problem that we are targeting is one that a curfew might help.”

Sistrunk says she went into the public hearing with an open mind. Mayor Lynn Spruill called for the hearing on putting the curfew in place as part of the ongoing effort to halt the rise in youth crime.

“There is no attempt to target any particular group, other than the juvenile aspect of our community who need to be home and safe in bed,” Mayor Spruill said.

Sistrunk says only eight to 10 members of the public attended the hearing. However, She said that Starkville Police Chief Mark Ballard made a very helpful presentation that answered many of the questions and concerns she and others have on the issue.

“It is not meant to be the solution to the problems that we’ve faced lately,” she said. “Actually, national research shows that curfews don’t necessarily do much to prohibit juvenile crime.”

But local law enforcement believes it can stop one specific crime.

Starkville Police say there have been 55 car burglaries so far in 2021 and 35 of those have involved guns.

“They’re looking for cash and guns, and the guns are then ultimately sold or used in a crime of some sort,” Sistrunk says. “So that’s where the curfew can potentially help.”

Police say the thieves often just look for cars with unlocked doors.

“Those guns translate into danger for the children as well as for those who purchase them and then use them illegally,” the mayor says.

The mayor says most of the feedback she has received regarding the curfew has been positive. Mayor Spruill and Sistrunk say most of the concerns they have heard revolve around how it would be enforced.

Sistrunk says any juvenile found out after hours will get a status offense and SPD has two hours to return them to a parent or guardian. She made it clear that no one will be arrested for only violating the curfew.

Other residents have questions about the effectiveness of a curfew altogether.

“At the end of the day, if the kids are out at midnight and breaking rules, then they’re not going to care about a curfew,” says Starkville business owner Jerome Nettles.

Nettles believes the issue of youth crime starts at home. City leaders agree and believe the curfew, while only a temporary measure, can help there too.

“That is another tool that can be helpful in identifying families who might need help,” Sistrunk says. “Families in crisis.”

The Board of Alderman will hold another public hearing to discuss the curfew on June 1st. That meeting could end with the vote on whether or not to adopt the curfew. If the vote for the curfew is unanimous, it would go into effect immediately.