NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. — With spring break around the corner, New Smyrna Beach Police are preparing to use a local youth curfew to prevent juvenile crime, for the second year in a row.
Last year, an 11 p.m. youth curfew was put in place to reduce juvenile crime during spring break and other holidays. New Smyrna Beach Chief of Police Eric Feldman said the curfew is a tool for officers to use to curb crime during major events and said that his department is getting ready to use the curfew again during this year’s spring break.
“We use it specifically for spring break and special events like Fourth of July,” Feldman said. “It’s a tool for us to get the kids to go home at 11 o’clock before they make decisions that they shouldn’t make. The whole idea is we want them to have a good time, but we want to prevent them from making mistakes they can’t recover from.”
The city said the curfew was put in place in response to the spring break of 2022, when more than 70 juvenile arrests were made for crimes like property damage and underage drinking. At last week’s State of the City address, Mayor Fred Cleveland said the curfew had reduced juvenile crime.
Chief Feldman said to expect a large law enforcement presence during this year’s spring break.
“This year, we’ll be building on our staffing with additional technology,” Feldman said. “We’ll be looking for those who are here to create a problem and not follow our laws and ordinances.”
Feldman said that while no arrests have been made under the ordinance, there is a zero-tolerance policy for the curfew.
Some local business owners said the youth curfew has been effective. Luis Barrios, one of the owners of Flagler Avenue Pizza Company, said the curfew has been a major help.
“I’m all for the curfew,” Barrios said. “I think with the curfew, it has helped — also with the police presence, it’s helped a lot.”
Barrios has been working at the pizza company for nine years.
“I love it,” Barrios said. “It’s a good business, you know? I’m very happy for it. And it’s fun. I don’t consider it work.”
The shop is a staple on Flagler Avenue, which is one of the busiest streets in New Smyrna Beach. Barrios said that during the spring break of 2022, he experienced kids coming into the store and trying to take things. He said he understands being a kid, and that most are respectful, but some have caused issues in the past.
“I do get it. I was a kid at one time, too,” Barrios said. “I know they’re just having fun and stuff like that, but at the same time, there’s unfortunately some bad apples in the bunch that mess it up for everybody else.”
The curfew applies to all youth under 18 every day of the year, but is mainly enforced during spring break and holidays. Barrios said the curfew made a difference during last year’s spring break compared to 2022.
“There (were) a lot of bad things going on,” he said. “So, hopefully this year, it’ll work out as well as it did last year. Maybe even better.”
Barrios said the curfew may slightly reduce business during spring break but to him the safety is worth it.
“Being like us, we’re open on Fridays and Saturdays until 2 a.m., so we’ll lose a little bit of that business because they won’t be out — they’ll be going home earlier. But I’ll take it. I’ll take less of the business and be safe than anything else happening,” he said.
Reagan Ryan is a 2023 — 2024 Report for America Corps Member, covering the environment and climate across Central Florida for Spectrum News 13. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues.
Reagan Ryan
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