Flickr: Paul Sableman
As the Labor Day weekend approaches, officials in Philadelphia have decide to extend a curfew on young people they say has been effective in extinguishing flash mobs.
The summertime curfew has been in effect the last few weeks, since a group of teens attacked several people in the city’s downtown.
A spokesman for Mayor Michael Nutter told the Philadelphia Inquirer the curfew is working and would be extended until the start of the regular school year on Sept. 6.
After that, students will find themselves subject to the city’s school-year ordinance that makes kids aged 13-17 subject to a 10:30 weekday, and a midnight weekend, curfew.
The mayor and other supporters of the curfew have their detractors. Critics say the creation of economic opportunities for young people in the city is a much better approach to solving juvenile crime, while others question its legality.
While no so-called flash mobs have materialized since Aug. 9, arrests have continued.
Along with the curfew, the city has also deployed more police officers downtown and extended community and youth center hours, says The Inquirer.