Curfew looms for Waynesboro teens: Some question effectiveness

Brad Zinn
The News Leader
Mar. 04, 2006

WAYNESBORO — The long arm of the law just got a little longer in Waynesboro, at least if you happen to be younger than 17.

A new curfew takes effect March 10 after City Council unanimously adopted an ordinance Monday night that imposes restrictions on juveniles during the early morning hours. Vice Mayor Nancy Dowdy said the law was introduced in February after she was approached by concerned citizens who felt police needed an extra "tool" in dealing with juvenile crime.

"It's not meant to be a police state or anything," Dowdy said. "We are not going to have curfew police out there."

Dowdy said one of the main goals of the curfew is to curtail what she said is a "spike" in gang activity. "It's to protect the kids," she said, adding, "the ordinance is pretty liberal."

Understandably, some teens aren't too keen on the idea of a curfew.

"I don't think it will decrease any gang activity that's going on," said 16-year-old James Harris of Waynesboro. "If they're going to do the crime, they're not worried about the curfew."

Harris said he has doubts about the gang claim. "People act like they're in gangs, but they're really not. It's an attention thing," he said.

Anthony Batton, 15, said he's been stopped by Waynesboro police for walking after dark, before there was ever a curfew. "It's going to be heavy-handed," he said of the enforcement. Batton also predicts that kids will see the new curfew as a chance to play cat-and-mouse games during curfew hours.

"I think it's going be a hassle for the police," he said.

Evangeline Becks, a Waynesboro mother with a 16-year-old son and a 13-year-old daughter, said she's fully in favor of the curfew. "It maintains (the kids) to make sure they're not in the streets," she said. "They should have did it a long time ago."

Heather Payne, a mother of two young children, said, "I think it's needed."

The ordinance also stipulates that children older than 12 will not be allowed to trick or treat on Halloween night, a rule Payne wholeheartedly agrees with. "They want to be grown-ups," she said of teenagers, "so they shouldn't be going trick or treating."

Waynesboro Chief Doug Davis stressed repeatedly that the curfew is in place simply to protect Waynesboro's youth. "It gets them off the street," he said.

Davis also reiterated that there is indeed gang activity in Waynesboro. "They're here," he said. "It's more of a recruitment thing here."

If a child is caught violating the curfew, a verbal warning will be issued and a parent will be called to take the child home. Later, a written notice will be sent to the child's house. There will be no criminal charge for the first offense. Subsequent violations could result in a Class 4 misdemeanor and a $250 fine.

"That's less than reckless driving," Davis said.

Juveniles in Augusta County and Staunton can breathe easy. Sheriff Randy Fisher said the idea of a curfew hasn't been discussed in Augusta County since he took office in 1998, and Staunton hasn't broached the topic since at least 1990.

"Not in my 16 years on council," Mayor John Avoli said.