Police reinforce curfew

Press, 20 May 1987, Page 26

Police reinforce curfew

PA New Plymouth The police in Taumarunui say they are sick

and tired of babysitting young children who roam the streets late at night. The children were drinking alcohol and in many cases smoking marijuana, the police say. Senior-Sergeant Mike Keaney said this week he and his constables had had enough and from Friday they would invoke the provisions of the Children and Young Persons Act. This, in effect, means the reintroduction of the highly publicised curfew of about four years ago. Senior-Sergeant Keaney said the police would remove children under the age of 16 from the streets after 10 p.m. They would be taken to

the police station where the police would call the parents. Both children and parents would be appearing in court, he said. Children on the streets after 10 p.m. were the responsibility of parents, not the police. “If only we knew who was giving these children the alcohol then we could charge them with providing alcohol to a minor,” he said. It seemed to be the same group involved every week — about 25 to 30 children in total. Senior-Sergeant Keaney said much of the petty crime committed recently was done by this group.