Chesterfield County adds juvenile curfew ordinance to agenda; judicial committee to review

Chesterfield County Council voted to add an ordinance to establish juvenile curfew hours for minors to its agenda after Councilman Justin Price asked for immediate consideration, citing recent shootings and rising juvenile crime. The amendment to add agenda item 12(a) carried on a voice vote; council then adopted the amended agenda.

Price framed the curfew as "another tool in the bag for our sheriff's department" and urged prompt action, saying he did not want "bureaucracy to stop something that could happen to save another child's life." Council members debated how enforcement would work and whether penalties should target juveniles or parents. One council member argued, "A curfew is not going to prevent the majority of this stuff from happening," but said it could help hold parents accountable.

Members discussed jurisdictional limits: the sheriff's office cannot enforce town ordinances inside municipal limits, so council members urged municipal coordination to make any county ordinance uniform across towns. The chair and colleagues agreed to send the proposal to the judicial committee, invite law enforcement and municipal chiefs for input, and consider whether an emergency ordinance (which could take effect immediately) is appropriate.

Next steps: Miss Burns, chair of the judicial committee, will set a date and assemble stakeholders for a committee meeting to draft and refine the curfew language and enforcement provisions. The council did not adopt a final curfew ordinance at the meeting.