Northville weighs curfew for youths
By KAYLEIGH KARUTIS , The Leader-HeraldNORTHVILLE - The village is considering adopting a law that would make it illegal in most circumstances for people younger than 18 to be on public property from 11 p.m. until dawn, officials said Thursday.
The villages of Mayfield and Broadalbin already have such laws. The proposed law would make it illegal for youths to loiter on public property after 11 p.m. any day of the week.
Breaking the curfew law could result in fines for either the child or the parents of the child, said Mayor James Groff.
If the child is younger than 16, the child's parents will be fined. If the child is older than 16 and younger than 18, the child will be fined, Groff said.
Enacting a curfew isn't something the village wants to do, but officials are finding the law necessary, Groff said.
"We have some parents who won't take care of their kids," he said. "We hate to legislate parenthood."
Groff said responsible parenting would eliminate the need for a curfew.
Recent vandalism and burglaries perpetrated by young people made the village consider the law, he said.
"There's no reason to be out on the street at that time," Groff said. "Everything is closed."
The village board is still perfecting the language of the proposed law, Groff said. It will go before the public at a public hearing, most likely in August, he said.
The law, if it passes, probably would not go into effect until 2009, he added.
Groff said law enforcement officials will have more work during the first year of the law being in place.
"It's a tool law enforcement uses to curb activity," he said. "There are a few that are going to test it. If parents do their jobs, it makes it a lot easier."
Board member Norman Richardson said he's unsure if a curfew law would be good for the town.
"We've been having break-ins and trouble with the kids," he said. "We're going to look into [a curfew law]. The kids are too young to be out on the street at that time."
Groff said most of the feedback he's received has been positive.
"Most people ask why we haven't done it before," he said. "We just need something to put some teeth into the laws."
Kayleigh Karutis covers rural Fulton County. She can be reached at ruralnews@leaderherald.com.
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Don12134
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07-07-08 10:09 AM
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I am a Native, "Glad2BGone" and I also am leaving, for good. The final blow was when the Transit "Manager" totally and completely screwed up the bus schedule. I have seizures and can't drive. Now I can't even ride a bus. I'm out of here. It's not ALL to do with problems in Northville (although I'm afraid it's heading towards 'ghost town status' if things don't change around) but FULTON COUNTY as a whole is just a stinky place to live. Yeah, the place on Route 30 has improved some, but no where's near enough. What a beautiful sight for all our visitors entering the Town of Northampton!!
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Glad2Bgone
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07-04-08 10:43 PM
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EVERY town should have a curfew. I am so sick of looking at these kids running around late at night....maybe that's one of the SEVERAL reasons I left Fulton County.
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Ringwaold
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07-04-08 10:11 PM
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i think if you drop enough dumps between now and october, the harvest will begin to bring the children of the corn back to PBS kids.
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bubbasdad
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07-04-08 8:23 PM
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native. It's not just rt30 it's all over the place. Like i said before. The town board loves to wade in the water they are just afraid to get their feet wet.
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teebzz
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07-04-08 4:57 PM
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rocky1 is living in a "perfect world" where we need no laws. and all parents... care
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rocky1
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07-04-08 4:36 PM
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What kind of mischief do you think these kids will find to get into once they turn 18 and can roam free without being attached to a monitor or mom's apron's strings? Parents are the ones who should be responsible and who brings their kids home at a certain hour without a law telling them to do it. Laws were meant to be broken and I will bet my bottom dollar, some will find a way to do it. To many laws being written and to much dictating today. Parents, be more mature than your children and bring them home at night!
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teebzz
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07-04-08 2:43 PM
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givemeabreak.. sounds silly about the 16 year old point, but u can almost seeing it being a loophole that some kids would use purposely. its the kind of things lawyers love.
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givemeabreak
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07-04-08 11:00 AM
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i believe the curfew should be at 10pm. there are adults that have to get up early for work and need to get to bed before 11pm. And there are families with younger children who are trying to sleep. The article says "If the child is younger than 16, the child's parents will be fined. If the child is older than 16 and younger than 18, the child will be fined," That must be rewritten. What about the 16 year olds? they are not younger than 16 nor are thay older than 16 they are 16, just a thought. to bad it couldn't be passed at the July meeting,
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DaveGibson
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07-04-08 9:17 AM
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Interesting. I brought the subject of a curfew up to Gloversville's old police chief several years ago and was told that curfews are unconstitutional. Perhaps our new police chief would be willing to enforce a curfew. How about it, city council? Let's clean up Gloversville too.
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native
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07-04-08 8:55 AM
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Hats off to Mayor Groff. Board member Norman Richardson needs to go back home to NY City. Northville is the gratest little town in the State, lets keep it that way! Now if Northampton can only clean up the blight on Rt 30, and we all know the properties in question.
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Don12134
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07-04-08 12:57 AM
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I agree with Mayor Groff totally on this one. The parents should be keeping track of their children, but unfortunately, it's just not happening. I live in an area where I see kids, much younger than even 16, out at night until 2:00am or 3:00am. Then some are in cars racing up and down Main Street at those times. We have a wonderful Village, and I thank the Mayor and the Board for taking appropriate action to keep it that way.
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