Navasota Police to stop enforcing curfew for minors after new law passes
NAVASOTA, Texas (KBTX) – Governor Greg Abbott signed House Bill 1819 into law which prohibits law enforcement from setting a curfew for citizens under 18.
According to the city’s ordinance, juveniles have to stay inside from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. from Monday through Thursday and 11:59 p.m. to 6 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
Assistant Police Chief John Shoemaker says minors that stay out past curfew is a common problem that is seen in the area but most of the time it’s not a threat.
“We run into some juveniles that like to roam the streets every other weekend. But nine times out of 10 it’s something that can be fixed with contacting their parent and having them come pick up their child.”
The next steps are to get the ordinances changed by the city council to show that curfew hours for minors are now prohibited.
“I’ll just explain what the new law is and which ordinances we need to change. I’ll take it in front of city council and explain to them that and we’ll have it redacted after that,” said Police Chief Mike Mize.
The department says they will continue to investigate suspicious activity happening in the city regardless of age.
“Safety is obviously the number one priority and if we feel like there’s somebody that’s not being safe we’re going to talk to them anyway. We want to keep the public safe.”
House bill 1819 goes into effect on Sep. 1
