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Raleigh City Council members say they aren’t likely to decide on a proposed curfew for minors on Tuesday.
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Council members have offered both support for and opposition to a curfew since Police Chief Rico Boyce proposed one after a Fourth of July “teen takeover” incident saw thousands of mostly young people show up at Glenwood South and Brier Creek
The council is set to discuss a potential curfew measure during a work session that begins at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday at the municipal building on West Hargett Street.
The actual text of the proposed ordinance — including the hours it could cover — was not available on Monday, according to city spokesperson Julia Milstead.
Council member Jane Harrison pointed out that Mayor Janet Cowell has not had to use her emergency powers since the July Fourth events, as there were no more incidents that rose to that level. Cowell had said she could enact a temporary curfew if needed.
“Is the problem as imminent as it was?” Harrison asked in a Friday interview with The News & Observer.
She said she’s worked to gather input during the council’s summer break, including on whether a curfew for minors would be unfair given that most of those arrested on July Fourth were over 18. More than 30 people have been arrested, but only five of them have been charged as minors.
“It could have an adverse impact,” Harrison said.
Council member Christina Jones also voiced caution about the ordinance in a video posted to social media last week..
“Thousands of young people showed up,” Jones said. “There were fights. There were guns. I’m not going to minimize that, but I also don’t want fear to rush us into a policy that doesn’t actually solve the problem.”
Most of those arrested were “people a youth curfew wouldn’t even apply to,” she said.
And as for adding youth programming to give young people things to do, Jones said the city’s parks and recreation department already has programs that are not full.
That could mean youth programming isn’t at the right times, isn’t easily accessible or doesn’t offer the right stuff to draw young people, Jones said.
And the city’s in a tight budget situation, which has caused a hiring freeze that would make it hard to expand parks and recreation programming anyway, she said.
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She asked young people to offer their opinions by signing up for public comment at raleighnc.gov/petition-address-city-council or by contacting their council members via raleighnc.gov/government/services/council-meetings/council-contacts.
Council Member Corey Branch told The N&O he supports a curfew for minors.
“I’m looking for something we can use to help assist us, and keep parents held responsible,” he said.
He said the goal for him is not to put people through the judicial system, but to give police a tool to correct behavior while still ultimately letting parents do the parenting.
“I don’t see the curfew being the number one reason someone is stopped and questioned,” he said. “But if they are stopped for something, then the curfew is another tool that could allow us to hold them until their parents get there.”
He added that he’s fine moving slowly on a curfew ordinance.
“I’d rather get it right than do it fast,” he said.
Boyce has advocated strongly for a youth curfew for similar reasons to Branch.
On Friday night, he attended the last of Raleigh Police’s Hoop Nights, where police play basketball with children, at the Lake Lynn Community Center in northwest Raleigh.
He addressed the community members and children there, saying that the curfew is just one measure the city can take to address juvenile crime.
He added in an interview with The N&O that the police department’s hoop nights have gotten more popular as the summer has gone on. Dozens attended on Friday.
“There’s no issues,” he said. “Kids are able to be kids. Police officers are able to share information without having all those distractions like lights and sirens going off and crime scene tape put up.”
And it’s one way the department keeps kids engaged during the evening.
Friday’s hoop night was the last scheduled for the summer, but Boyce said, “We’re going to be looking at where else we can go and what other activities we can provide.”
Christa Wright, a Raleigh mother who has two teenage boys who attended Friday’s hoop night, said she’s glad that police provided a safe place for kids to come and get to know the police officers.
She supports a curfew.
“It’ll cut down on the problem,” she said. “And make sure that kids are where they’re supposed to be.”
But T.J. Johnson, 14, who came to hoop night on Friday, thinks a curfew would penalize kids like him.
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“They weren’t even our age,” he said of those arrested. “That’s not fair.”
This story was originally published August 17, 2026 at 12:48 PM.