Groups Oppose Juvenile Curfew

If passed, the measure would mean lights out under threat of criminal charges for teenagers

Six community and civil rights organizations have urged the Providence City Council to reject a proposal from Councilman Davian Sanchez to institute a nighttime curfew for juveniles. In a letter to Council members, the groups said the proposal "makes every teenager out at night a criminal suspect." The organizations – Youth in Action, Providence Youth Student Movement, Direct Action for Rights and Equality, the Rhode Island ACLU, Olneyville Neighborhood Association, and the Univocal Legislative Minority Advisory Coalition, acknowledged the good intentions behind the proposal, but said "its enactment will exacerbate community relations between the police and the city's youth."