Iowa City considers curfew, juvenile delinquency law

IOWA CITY - A curfew would probably be the easiest, quickest way to resolve problems with juvenile delinquency in Iowa City, Police Chief Sam Hargadine told the City Council last night. 

But he is not in favor of one, comparing it to "house arrest," including for law-abiding kids.

Instead, he wants an ordinance that outlines certain behaviors that would be made unlawful, including congregating in large groups for the sake of intimidation, chronic truancy and impeding traffic.

That last one is a big complaint of residents on the southeast side of Iowa City - where  violence and vandalism seem to have gotten worse in recent months, resulting in a discussion about what needs to be done to make the neighborhood safer - and some council members were surprised it was not against the law already.

As I reported in today's Gazette (the story, for some reason, is not online at this time), the council asked for drafts of ordinances for a curfew and for delinquent behavior.

City Attorney Eleanor Dilkes advised the council that the behaviors would need to be explicitly laid out. She said when she asks people what they have in mind, the first thing she hears is essentially a curfew. If the council wants a curfew, then it needs to impose a curfew, she said.

Other complaints she hears involve activities that already are illegal, she said. And some activities cannot be made illegal, she said.

The council may hold a special meeting before its next scheduled one on Sept. 14 to hash some of this out.

The majority of the council said they wanted more information before deciding what to do. Ross Wilburn did question the effectiveness of a curfew, noting that other Iowa towns, including Cedar Rapids, have curfews and still have juveniles involved in serious crimes.

Cedar Rapids' curfew is from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. for those 16 and younger, with exceptions for school, work and other select activities. It can be viewed here (it's ch. 62.28).

Coralville also has a curfew that makes exceptions for certain activities. It imposes different hours on different age groups and changes when school is not in session in the summer. It can be viewed here (Ch. 46).

Council member Matt Hayek said many of the current problems are part of a broader issue and the council should look at its public housing policies, the number of owner-occupied versus rental units in the area and other socio-economic issues.

“There's a whole panoply of issues that are very difficult to talk about,” he said.