Since police began enforcing the law July 1, they have picked up 109 kids
TRENTON -- This summer, police in Trenton began enforcing their own long-neglected curfew, albeit with an unorthodox twist.
Minors who are caught out past curfew can either wait for their parents to pick them up at police headquarters or get dropped off at one of the half-dozen churches and faith-based organizations that have opened their doors as a "safe haven." When given an option, police say, the teenagers choose church.
"The church is in their community as opposed to coming to the police station, which they view as bad," said Detective Sgt. Bethesda Stokes, who heads the department's youth services unit. "We don't have the pastor coming in and laying hands on them. It's everyday talk. It's them seeing people just like them who may have gone through the same thing they did as a child. They let them know that it's not safe for them to be out there, there's options."
Though the city has had a curfew law on the books since 1967, it has been enforced only sporadically.
The ordinance prohibits anyone under 17 from being in a public place unaccompanied by a parent or guardian between 11:59 p.m. and 6 a.m. from July 1 through Aug. 31 and between 9:59 p.m. and 6 a.m. from Sept. 1 through June 30.
Since police began enforcing the law July 1, they have picked up 109 kids, according to figures provided on Friday.
The city has received some criticism, though much of it has come not from the community, but from legal groups who have concerns of the constitutionality of the curfew and the decision to use churches.
But that did not deter the city from pushing ahead. In fact, this summer is not the first time curfew-breakers have been brought to a city church or community center. In 2009, the police and sheriff's department partnered with churches and volunteers from Fathers and Men United for a Better Trenton to enforce the curfew.
Stokes says it is an attempt to get youths off the streets at night both for their safety and to reduce crime.
"Whether we save a kid that night or whether we prevent a crime from happening, it helps," she said, adding that about one or two juveniles are picked up each night. "A lot of parents didn't even know their kids were out."
Every night between midnight and 3 a.m., two officers assigned to curfew enforcement patrol the streets, looking for at-risk youth who are out late at night, Stokes said.
Curfew violators are then taken to a participating church, where they are met by a juvenile officer and a volunteer from the church or community group. When a child has a religious conflict or on nights when a church is unavailable, police offer their headquarters as an alternative drop-off location.
At the churches, juveniles are brought to the community or meeting rooms and religion is not discussed.
"They're not in a pew repenting," Stokes said. "There's none of that."
Instead, she said, the volunteers can often be a sounding board to the kids and parents, who may be at wit's end about how to discipline their children, and can refer them to community groups or counseling programs.
Pastor Terry Wells of My Brother's Keeper Outreach Ministries takes the Sunday night shift and said he hopes to keep kids from going down the same bad path he did when he was younger.
"I'm not coming here to preach to them," he said. "I'm coming to them as a person who can assist them with whatever the problem is.
"It gives me an opportunity to speak to them about what happened, who they are hanging out with, what's going on at home," he continued. "Sometimes they put up a wall with the officers, but with me, they let down the wall."
Friendship Baptist Church's Rev. John Taylor has opened the doors to his church as a "safe haven" since the curfew enforcement days of former Mayor Doug Palmer. He said he chooses to take a more hands-off approach, instead leaving the talking to the juvenile officer.
"The child doesn't get used to going to the police station and they have a positive interaction with the law enforcement," he said. "It's a win-win solution."
Stokes said that requiring parents to pick up their children also helps encourage parental responsibility.
"Us picking them up and taking them home is just too easy," she said. "Taking them to a church or community building ... holds them accountable because as a parent, why don't you know where your child is after a certain time?"
If, however, their parents or guardians cannot be reached or don't have a ride -- as is sometimes the case for grandparents who serve as primary caretakers -- the officers will transport the child back home.
"It's effective," she said of the summer curfew. "The less people on the street after a certain time eliminates a lot of crime."
Cristina Rojas may be reached at crojas@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @CristinaRojasTT. Find NJ.com on Facebook.