Curfew Would Protect Our Kids Pro Curfew Kids Shouldn’t Be Out Late At Night.

Eric Amodio might be alive today if Spokane had a curfew in place last year.

In July 1994, the 15-year-old and three friends were bored about 2 one morning so they rode their bikes through Riverfront Park looking for excitement.

Excitement found them in the form of a drunk with a 16-inch “Rambo” knife. That night - at a time when he should have been in bed - young Amodio became Riverfront Park’s first murder victim.

Today, children like Eric Amodio don’t need to seek trouble to find it - particularly when they’re wandering the streets late at night. For their sake and to protect Spokane from juvenile menaces, the City Council should approve a sensible curfew for teenagers.

Police need every tool available to fight juvenile crime. A curfew would give police officers authority to question youngsters, send them home or, if necessary, take them into custody.

Of course, civil libertarians are bellyaching that any curfew infringes on the rights of Junior and Suzy Q. An American Civil Liberties Union attorney from Seattle whined, “We don’t think it should be against the law simply to be outside.”

But kids need guidelines for assurance and protection - at home and in society. Their immaturity makes them susceptible to foolish choices and peer pressure. That’s why society passed laws to prevent them from drinking, smoking, running away and skipping school. They shouldn’t be allowed to stay out all night, either.

In recent years, Coeur d’Alene police officers used a 1961 curfew law and other ordinances to restore order downtown after a Spokane youth was thrown through a plate glass window. At that point, packs of youngsters were roaming Sherman Avenue, scaring away business and looking for trouble.

Some may consider Coeur d’Alene’s curfew strict: 10:30 p.m. weekdays and midnight on weekends. But it works, according to police Capt. Carl Bergh, because officers enforce it only when necessary.

A curfew law isn’t a cure-all.

Hardened punks still will roam the streets - like the 15-year-old suspected of gunning down two girls, 16 and 17, shortly before 2 a.m. Aug. 11 at a North Spokane home.

But a curfew will mean such thugs will find less prey.

, DataTimes MEMO: For opposing view, see headline “Police don’t have time to baby-sit”

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