Councilman Jon Johnson says he's doing more research, needs assurances from NOPD
The new 8 p.m. weeklong curfew for juveniles in the French Quarter and part of Faubourg Marigny won't be expanded to all of New Orleans -- at least not this week. City Councilman Jon Johnson, who authored the proposed ordinance to expand the curfew to citywide, said this week that he will defer the matter from Thursday's agenda until he can complete what he described as "some expensive research" on the controversial issue.
Jon JohnsonWhen the City Council last month voted unanimously to set an 8 p.m. weekend curfew in the city's tourism hubs -- effectively extending an existing weekday curfew to 7 days a week -- most members also declared their desire to make the change citywide in hopes of curbing the city's stubborn crime problem, particularly among young people.
Johnson said he's consulting with experts and community organizations to figure out whether tightening the curfew law would "actually impact the crime that's going on in this city."
"A number of individuals and entities are saying that they question whether or not a citywide curfew is going to make that much of a difference, whether or not the implementation of the curfew would do more to create a problem then solve the problems that we're confronted with," he said.
Advocacy groups including the ACLU of Louisiana, the Louisiana Justice Institute and the Southern Poverty Law Center objected to the French Quarter curfew law.
In an open letter last month, the state's ACLU chapter director argued that researchers have "found no evidence that the New Orleans juvenile curfew has been effective" in reducing crime.
Eighty-five percent of crimes involving juveniles occur between 2 and 7 p.m., the letter states. It adds that businesses frequented by teens could be hurt by the citywide curfew.
Johnson said he wants to make sure that "when we pick up these children, that we're able to properly care for them."
"We'll probably have to find more money within the Police Department in order to open the curfew center on an extended basis," he said.
Johnson said he may schedule a hearing on his ordinance before the council's Health, Education and Social Services Committee, which he chairs. The panel meets next on March 19.
Johnson also wants assurances that law enforcement personnel won't target certain children as curfew violators.
"I want to be convinced that the Police Department is not going to be profiling children based on how they look or the color of their skin or because they may have dreds in their hair or their personal appearance," he said.
The councilman admitted he's not sure what it would take -- a separate city law, a written statement by Police Superintendent Ronal Serpas, a verbal commit from the chief, or some other method -- to convince him that profiling wouldn't be a problem, he said.
In its January letter, the ACLU noted that black teenagers could face unfair treatment under a citywide curfew, it states.
"Empirical evidence shows that black youth nationwide are cited for curfew violations 71 percent more than white youth," the letter states.
"In New Orleans, African Americans are arrested for curfew violations at a rate nineteen times greater than are white youth. There is, then, a significant risk that some teens will be disproportionately and unfairly affected by this change in the law."