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Council reopens city curfew rule; staff directed to draft amendment to 11 p.m. nightly and revise penalties
Summary
Hagerstown police and council reopened discussion Sept. 16 on Chapter 79 juvenile curfew and truancy enforcement, asking staff to draft an amendment that would standardize curfew hours to 11 p.m.–5 a.m., simplify parental penalties and clarify enforcement procedures.
The Mayor and City Council discussed Hagerstown’s Chapter 79 juvenile curfew and related truancy enforcement at length during the Sept. 16 work session. Hagerstown Police Chief (Steve) Kuyper provided statutory context, described enforcement burdens and said the department uses the curfew ordinance sparsely because processing juveniles late at night requires significant officer time and follow-up.
Chief Kuyper summarized the existing chapter: a juvenile (an unemancipated person under 17) is subject to a curfew of 10 p.m. Sunday–Thursday until 5 a.m., and 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays until 5 a.m.; parental responsibility language and escalating municipal-infraction fines are in the ordinance (warning, $100, $250, up to $500). He explained Maryland law limits charging juveniles under a certain age, noted officers’…
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