(Oct. 6, 2016) Mayor Bruce Morrison prefaced the public hearing on a proposed curfew for youth in Pocomoke City with the caveat that support for the measure had evaporated.
“I have a lot of mixed feelings on this,” he said. “I’m not sure this is the way we want to go. There are a lot of problems with it.”
Large groups of people, minors and adults, gathering in the area of Fourth, Cedar and Laurel Streets are causing problems for residents, who pleaded their case for a curfew or some kind of action to control the crowds.
This past weekend three juveniles, two females and a male, out of a larger group of individuals were arrested on minor charges for blocking the street making it impassible to traffic.
During the arrest, police reported the crowd becoming more agitated and had to send a request for backup from other agencies. No further arrests from this incident were reported.
This mirrors a similar situation that occurred in early August, when two men, Robert Robinson and Dashawn Ballard, were arrested in the same area and required a similar response from multiple agencies to quell an angry crowd.
Morrison asked Councilman Dale Trotter, a corporal in the Worcester County Sheriff’s K-9 division, to explain the town’s stance on the curfew.
“A curfew is a civil action, so a law enforcement officer can’t arrest for a violation. It has no teeth,” Trotter said.
What police could do, Trotter explained, was identify the subjects suspected of violating a curfew and attempt to contact a responsible party.
All that takes time, Trotter said.
Moreover, he continued, most of the things a curfew would enforce, such as disorderly conduct and the like, are already illegal under state law.
An increase in community policing, a system of allocating officers to particular areas so they get to know its residents, would be more effective, Trotter said.
“When the police presence is there, you don’t see them,” Morrison said of the problem groups.
City Manager/City Attorney Ernie Crofoot endorsed the new direction, and said curfews have no effect on older people who may be instigating or aggravating already tense situations.
Trotter said he recalled police had a substation in the area in the past, and the council said they would explore that option more deeply in the weeks to come.
“I have a lot of mixed feelings on this,” he said. “I’m not sure this is the way we want to go. There are a lot of problems with it.”
Large groups of people, minors and adults, gathering in the area of Fourth, Cedar and Laurel Streets are causing problems for residents, who pleaded their case for a curfew or some kind of action to control the crowds.
This past weekend three juveniles, two females and a male, out of a larger group of individuals were arrested on minor charges for blocking the street making it impassible to traffic.
During the arrest, police reported the crowd becoming more agitated and had to send a request for backup from other agencies. No further arrests from this incident were reported.
This mirrors a similar situation that occurred in early August, when two men, Robert Robinson and Dashawn Ballard, were arrested in the same area and required a similar response from multiple agencies to quell an angry crowd.
Morrison asked Councilman Dale Trotter, a corporal in the Worcester County Sheriff’s K-9 division, to explain the town’s stance on the curfew.
“A curfew is a civil action, so a law enforcement officer can’t arrest for a violation. It has no teeth,” Trotter said.
What police could do, Trotter explained, was identify the subjects suspected of violating a curfew and attempt to contact a responsible party.
All that takes time, Trotter said.
Moreover, he continued, most of the things a curfew would enforce, such as disorderly conduct and the like, are already illegal under state law.
An increase in community policing, a system of allocating officers to particular areas so they get to know its residents, would be more effective, Trotter said.
“When the police presence is there, you don’t see them,” Morrison said of the problem groups.
City Manager/City Attorney Ernie Crofoot endorsed the new direction, and said curfews have no effect on older people who may be instigating or aggravating already tense situations.
Trotter said he recalled police had a substation in the area in the past, and the council said they would explore that option more deeply in the weeks to come.