INDIANAPOLIS — Police will begin enforcing the state’s curfew law for minors in response to increasing violence among youth in the city.
“Our residents deserve better, our children deserve better and a small number of our children need to be better,” said Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department Police Chief Christopher Bailey on Thursday.
The curfew announcement from the police department comes a few days after the shooting of seven minors in downtown Indianapolis Saturday night. The shooting shined a national spotlight on the city’s struggle with youth violence.
What is Indiana’s curfew law for minors?
Indiana’s curfew law, which IMPD will begin enforcing, states children younger than 15 may not be in a public place after 11 p.m. or before 5 a.m. on any day.
The law also states children ages 15-17 may not be in a public place:
- between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. on Saturday or Sunday
- after 11 p.m. on Sunday – Thursday
- before 5 a.m. on Monday – Friday
Exceptions to the curfew law include:
- A juvenile who is accompanied by a parent, guardian or custodian or adult
- A juvenile who is accompanied by an adult specified by a parent, guardian or custodian
- A juvenile participating in, going to, or returning from work, a school sanctioned activity, a religious event, an emergency involving the protection of a person or property from an imminent threat of serious bodily injury or substantial damage, or an activity involving the exercise of the juveniles engaging in freedom of speech or the right of assembly
- A juvenile participating in an activity conducted by a nonprofit or governmental entity that provides recreation, education, training or other care under the supervision of an adult
- A juvenile participating in an activity with the prior written direction of the juvenile’s parent, guardian or custodian
- A juvenile traveling from outside Indiana to another location outside Indiana.