Macon-Bibb curfew proposal would extend hours and age limits
The proposal would expand the curfew to 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. for those 17 and under if approved by commissioners.
MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – A Macon-Bibb commissioner is advocating for a curfew change following a recent spike in crime.
Right now, the curfew in Macon-Bibb is from midnight to 5 a.m. for those 16 and under, but District 3 Commissioner Stanley Stewart wants to change that from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. for those 17 and under.
“We want to have a deeper conversation with the sheriff’s department to make sure we can enforce this,” he said. “We want to have a deeper conversation with Dr. (Dan) Sims and the board of education, perhaps try to get their police officers involved as well.”
Stewart says the increased curfew would be a start.
“You can’t say this is a magic part of the puzzle, but it’s doing something,” he said. “It’s starting the ball rolling. It’s letting people know we’re serious about initiatives in the city.”
District 8 commissioner Donice Bryant agrees with Stewart but believes there should be one adjustment.
“Where Stanley was talking about the 17 and under, then it’s just something I would like to say, yeah, we need to add to that, saying the curfew needs to be for everybody, and we need that temporary solution.”
Bryant had a message for parents.
‘The parents that have these kids 14 and 15 years old and they go into their rooms and see guns and see them on their Facebook page with guns, and they are not even old enough to have a gun, they (parents) need to figure out why they have a gun,” she said. “Because you can’t have a gun in my house at the age of 14 and 15.”
Bryant says parents should be watching their kids at all times.
“Then if your kids are not at home at 15 and 16 or 14 and 15, and you told them to be home at 10, and it’s now 2 o’clock…where are your kids?” she said. “Parents, where are your kids?”
As of now, the curfew is still the same until commissioners formally amend an ordinance.
The next scheduled commission meeting is March 17.
