Shiloh and Southport Presbyterian Church are coordinating with Juvenile Court to be a host site for arrested teens. Once arrested, teens will be take to a designated site at either one of the churches or the Juvenile Detention Center and there they will be tested for marijuana, cocaine and alcohol. Parents will then be called to come collect their teenager. Volunteers from the community staffed the churches from 11 p.m. - 5 a.m. and stood ready to counsel youth and notify parents. Of the 225 teenagers arrested last summer during coordinated curfew sweeps, over half tested positive for drugs or alcohol.
Law enforcement is on the lookout every night of the week for curfew offenders.
Department will once again sponsor a Curfew Hotline to report problem spots or curfew violators. WHAT THE LAW SAYS State law prohibits anyone under 18 to be in a public place after 11 p.m. without a parent or guardian, unless the minor is going to or from a job, school or religious activity. Some say even that hour is too late for teens to be out unless they have a good reason. Indiana law also allows for local ordinances to be more stringent. In all cases, teenagers must carry a note from their parent or guardian that can be verified by police.