Marshall County may soon consider an ordinance specifying a curfew for youth residing, or traveling through the County.
During Monday morning’s Marshall County Commissioner’s meeting, Sheriff Matt Hassel explained to the board that the state of Indiana has made changes leaving the responsibility on several matters up to local governments.
“Each local government has to create their own if they want a curfew,” says Hassel. “So right now, we don’t have a curfew.]”
Typically, Towns and Cities are responsible for setting those times and, in the past, the state has been responsible for setting a curfew for the other geographic areas.
Hassel said that, with the changes, Marshall County may need to consider its own ordinance. Attorney Jim Clevenger says he would begin work on a proposal for the changes.
Hassel recommended modeling Marshall County’s curfews on Bremen’s model.
“There are exemptions to it,” says Hassel. “If they’re at work, if they’re at a school event, if they’re at a religious event. There are all sorts of legitimate reasons for them to be out. This is to protect when we find a group of kids in the county cemetery with nothing better to do.”
For youth aged 14 and under, the curfew was strict: setting time for 10:00 p.m. seven days per week. Youth aged 15 to 17 had a curfew in Bremen of midnight on Fridays and Saturday night’s, and 10 p.m. on Sunday through Thursday night.
A proposed ordinance should be coming to the Commissioners in the near future.
