Abbeville Police to enforce daytime curfew in city

Kids are back in school as the sun has set on summer fun.
Now that school is back in session, Abbeville Chief of Police William Spearman wants to remind parents and legal guardians that officers will be enforcing the city’s daytime curfew for ages 7 to 17.
Anyone within those ages cannot be alone in any public place between 8:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Whether they are in school, at home, or with a parent or guardian, Sgt. Jonathan Castille of the Abbeville Police Department said the objective is safety.
“A child cannot be wandering the streets by themselves,” Castille said. “If a parent or guardian are with them, that is fine. We just don’t want them to be by themselves, where they can get hurt.”
If officers do find a school-aged student, that officer will contact the parent or guardian and will either bring the student to the parent, or to his or her school.
“We will contact the parent or guardian,” Castille said, “and find out where to bring the child. We may also bring the child to the station, and the parent or guardian must come to pick up the child.”
In the case of any child who violates the curfew for a third time or more in a 365-day period, the parent or guardian, having previously been notified of the violation, will be cited.
“They will be cited for negligently failing to supervise a child,” Castille said.
That is a misdemeanor and is subject to the jurisdiction of city court. A fine of $500 can be imposed for each offense, as well as a sentence of not more than 60 days in jail.
This is not an issue that will be overlooked.
“The Chief wants people to know that officers will be enforcing the city ordinance for daytime curfew,” Castille said. “We don’t want children running around the city unsupervised. Whenever they are unsupervised, they can get into trouble or get hurt.
“We want the city to be safe and for children to be safe.”