Rehoboth Beach officials want to see a juvenile curfew put in place.
The latest discussions began at a meeting with Commissioners when city manager Taylour Tedder proposed the idea.
Rehoboth Beach Chief of Police Keith Banks said he and other officials have considered a juvenile curfew before but decided to hold off until now.
“We've experienced unacceptable levels of juvenile delinquency, resulting in 110 percent increase in juvenile charges and complaints over the previous three years,” Banks said.
That increase includes crimes at all hours of the day. The Police Department has also had to respond to robberies, rape and a hate crime – all by juveniles, Banks said.
Bethany Beach, Dewey Beach and Fenwick Island have juvenile curfews in place. Rehoboth Beach is looking at a similar curfew from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. year round.
Over 400 towns, cities, counties and states have put juvenile curfews in place in the U.S., according to the National Youth Rights Association.
“As my parents used to tell me, after 11, midnight by yourself, there's probably nothing but trouble,” Banks said.
A 2017 study found gunfire incidents increased by 150 percent in Washington, D.C. when a juvenile curfew was put in place. A 2021 Brazilian study based on 2005 data found evidence that suggested juvenile curfews led to a decrease in theft by about 18 percent.
Most juvenile crime occurs outside of typical curfew hours anyway, according to a 2016 study. The same report found there is little evidence to back curfews as an effective response to juvenile crime.
Banks is of the opinion that now is the time for Rehoboth to put a curfew in place.
“We're a tourist industry, and it is a perception and all of this making people uneasy…” Banks said. “But we have the data to sit down and prove [...] their crimes – that element is there too. So it's both, and we're just trying to sit there and fix it.”
Seaford put a juvenile curfew in place last summer that is enforced only when the mayor implements an executive order.
