Hilton Head is weighing a teen curfew. 5 things to know
Hilton Head Island officials are weighing a potential juvenile curfew after a July 4 shooting on Coligny Beach injured eight people. Law enforcement officials say the measure would help officers manage large teen gatherings that have raised concerns throughout the summer.
FULL STORY: No teens after 8 PM: Hilton Head Island to explore juvenile curfew after shooting
Specifics of the ordinance, such as what time it should take effect or in what areas it would cover remain undecided. The ordinance still needs to written, discussed and voted on before it can take effect.
Here are five key takeaways:
- At a July 9 meeting, Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office General Counsel Daniel Gourley asked the Hilton Head Island Town Council to enact a teen curfew to give law enforcement the “necessary tools” to detain, identify, send home and potentially arrest juveniles who disregard it.
- Gourley recommended that parents should face charges if they “knowingly and intelligently” allow their children to break curfew.
- Gourley said officers typically notice after-hours juvenile activity ramps up around 8:30 p.m. daily. He recommended an 8 p.m. curfew.
- Other S.C. municipalities currently have teen curfews. In Greenville, unaccompanied youth cannot be on public streets, plazas or parks after 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday nights. Exceptions are made for youth who are volunteering, attending an event, running an errand with written permission from a parent or guardian or emancipated.
- At a July 14 Town Council Meeting, Town Manager Marc Orlando said he would bring a proposed ordinance to the August meeting of the town’s Community Development and Public Services Committee, as well as a potential crowd dispersal ordinance.
The summary points above were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists. The full story in the link at top was reported, written and edited entirely by journalists.
