Council reopens city curfew rule; staff directed to draft amendment to 11 p.m. nightly and revise penalties

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’ operational challenges when parents are unreachable late at night, and said the department favors voluntary compliance and focusing enforcement on repeat offenders.

“If I get out with a juvenile at 02:00 in the morning, we have to identify who the juvenile is, identify who the parents are, try to find the parents…We wound up sitting with them for a very long period of time,” Kuyper said, summarizing the staff time required to process curfew encounters. On penalties, Kuyper said he would recommend simplifying enforcement and suggested holding parents accountable has more impact than pursuing maximum fines against juveniles.

Council members and Chief Kuyper discussed several changes: a proposal to simplify the curfew to 11 p.m.–5 a.m. every night; replacing the tiered municipal-infraction schedule with a single maximum $500 fine for parental violations (consistent with other municipal codes); clarifying in the ordinance which authority (police/juvenile services/court) manages enforcement steps and procedures; and better public awareness through schools and social-media outreach. Councilwoman Burnett said the purpose of revisiting Chapter 79 was public awareness and safety after summer incidents involving minors, and she asked staff to identify the enforcement entity in the ordinance.

The police chief emphasized exceptions written into the current ordinance — parental accompaniment, attending or returning from school or civic events, employment, exercise of First Amendment rights, and being on private property — and recommended clarifying those in any amendment. On age thresholds, staff confirmed Maryland law affects which juveniles can be charged and that while juveniles under certain ages cannot be charged, parents may still be cited.

Council consensus and staff direction: Council asked staff to prepare a draft amendment for the next preliminary agenda that would (a) consider an 11 p.m.–5 a.m. curfew across all nights, (b) simplify the parental penalty language to align with a $500 maximum municipal fine after appropriate warnings, and (c) clarify the ordinance language about who enforces the violation process and how juvenile services is involved. Staff told the council they would work with the city attorney and return the proposed text at the next meeting for consideration.

What’s next: Staff to draft the ordinance amendment and include it on the preliminary agenda for the next meeting; final adoption would require council action at a subsequent session.