The Dewey Beach Town Council votes unanimously to implement a new curfew for kids 17 and under.
The previous curfew for teenagers was 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. Sunday through Thursday and midnight to 5 a.m. on Friday and Saturday. That extra hour on Fridays and Saturdays is now done away with – the new curfew is 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. everyday.
Dewey Beach Police Chief Constance Speake says 70% of cities and towns across America have curfews and a stricter one in Dewey gives police the means to disperse late-night crowds of juveniles, which they saw during “Senior Week” in June and the Fourth of July.
“We had many footchases with these people, "I sent out a several-page document, emails to all the citizens explaining what we were trying to do to combat these problems. We had numerous complaints from all the homeowners on the beach with all the juvenile problems with them disrupting their property, drinking alcohol on the beaches, basically trespassing on their property and doing all kinds of things they shouldn’t be doing.”
There are exceptions to the curfew – minors traveling to and from work, emergencies, or if they’re with a parent.
Dewey resident Mary Dunmyer told council that informing out-of-town families will be a challenge, and says signage will look family “unfriendly.”
She adds Dewey’s new curfew will be one of the strictest aside from Bethany Beach and Ocean City, Maryland.
Other residents like David Moskowitz have concerns too.
“You’re changing it from midnight to 11, which is early for that age, but at the same time, the town lets mini-golf close at 11," Moskowitz says. "The town lets the ice cream place they recently approved close at midnight. So you have people who are going to come on vacation, go to mini-golf, they’ll play the last hole, walk back to their place, and their breaking a curfew.”
Speake says there are protections in the code that prevent police from “targeting” individuals.
Speake adds the curfew will allow them to prepare for the “bar rush” around 1 a.m.