CLEVELAND — Cleveland parents may soon face tougher penalties when their children get caught breaking the city's nighttime curfew.
During their regular meeting Wednesday, the Cleveland City Council Public Safety Committee voted in favor of an emergency ordinance that would more than double the current fine.
Ward 8 Councilman Mike Polensek introduced the emergency ordinance after watching violent incidents involving minors his past summer, including the unprovoked beating of a man at a gas station near East 140th Street and St. Clair Avenue in July.
"If you want to have children, be responsible for the children," Polensek said. "To see what we've seen across the city, with 12 and 13-year-olds out at 3 o'clock in the morning? Gimme a break!"
The ordinance increases the fine parents pay for curfew violations from $100 to $250 for the first offense and $500 for a second offense.
At the request of Ward 7 Councilwoman Stephanie Howse, a requirement for a "family root cause analysis" and family participation in court-ordered support programs after a first offense was added to the ordinance Wednesday.
Cleveland resident Walter Patton, who created Ghetto Therapy 216, doesn't think stiffer penalties will make a difference, but supports the proposal to address why teenagers are violating the city's curfew.
Ghetto Therapy 216 connects impoverished Cleveland children and adults to therapy and other mental health services, including reiki, meditation, and yoga.
"What you see with kids stealing cars, violence, all of this... this is not overnight," he said. "This is from generations of trauma before them and now it's just leaking out in the streets."
"It tells you that there's something wrong at home," Patton added. "There's something that's going on inside of these kids' households, something that's going on inside of these kids' environment that pushing them to the streets."
During Wednesday's meeting, Cleveland police told council members their officers are stepping up enforcement of nighttime curfew violations after Polensek complained about a significant drop in the number of citations since the pandemic.
News 5 Investigators found only 32 citations were issued during the first seven months of 2023 and just 56 were issued during 2022.
READ MORE: Councilman pushes to increase penalties for curfew violations
"We've got to send the message," Polensek said. "This is unacceptable what we've seen in this town."
