CAMBRIDGE, Md. - Cambridge Mayor Stephen Rideout held a forum Monday night that encouraged those in the community to speak up about a proposed juvenile curfew.
The ordinance, which was drafted by the city commissioners a few weeks ago, would apply to children 15 and younger.
During Monday's meeting, several people said that before enacting a curfew, they want to see youth programs, youth centers, and activities for the kids.
Most of those community members were against this curfew.
They say doing a proper study on the juveniles in Cambridge is needed.
And although the proposed curfew would be temporary, most of those community members were seen pleading that the city does not go though with a juvenile curfew.
La-Shon Foster says the community needs to put their resources together for programs.
"They just don't want to go out here and throw a brick through a window. It's fun because there's nothing else to do. So, let's give them something to do. Invest in our children. As I stated in there, generation X is our future. They're going to take care of us. So if we don't take care of them, we won't have a future either," says Foster.
Eugene Muhammed believed the curfew was a great idea at first.
"At the time, we wanted to get them off the streets because a lot of them were causing havoc. They were kicking over trash cans and my car was hit with a rock two weeks ago. I was like 'Maybe they do need a curfew,'" says Muhammed.
But he has since changed his mind.
"This curfew is not going to work because it's going to put innocent children in the line of fire when they are not causing any trouble and they're trying to do the right thing. Then, they are going to get punished for what the other kids do. It's a very slippery slope," says Muhammed.
Mayor Rideout says what he wanted from the meeting was for those to speak out, listen, and learn about juvenile curfews.
Rideout also said he wanted a specific age group to come to Monday's forum.
"Well I hope to have more clarity about what the community wants. I'm hopeful that there will be children here. Young people who will be able to express their opinions because we really haven't heard from them as to what they want, or what they think will be best for them," says Rideout.
A decision was not made on this proposed curfew. When the proposal was drafted, it had incorporated that fines would be issued to children 15 and younger if they were caught past the proposed times.