Former Councilman Floyd Price wants to bring back ‘90s juvenile curfew system

LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) - On Tuesday in a Lubbock City Council meeting Chief of Police, Floyd Mitchell expressed the department’s concerns about recent juvenile crime.

“But it is causing a safety issue for our community at large,” Mitchell said.

Former Councilman, LPD Officer, and current Reserve Deputy for the Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office, Floyd Price said LPD is looking in the wrong places while searching for solutions.

“We always go get some professor here, who’s never in his or her life had anything to do with the program you’re trying to form,” Price said.

Juvenile crime was also an issue back in the 1990s. Back when Price worked for LPD, he helped get a city ordinance for a curfew passed. His team also convinced LISD to donate a building that would become the Juvenile Curfew Center.

“And they went and renovated it and they customized it for young men on one side, young ladies on the other side, we had all the things we needed to bring the young people in,” Price said. “And from that point, the curfew center started here in Lubbock.”

The rules were simple. All minors needed to be inside the house between the hours of 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. If you followed these rules, you were in the clear. The first night the center was open, 87 kids were caught being out past the curfew.

Price said they would give the kid a ticket and also ticket the parent who came to pick them up.

“It got out that if you don’t control your kid, you’re gonna get a ticket,” Price said.

If a parent had five kids out past curfew, the parent and each child would get a ticket, for a total of six.

“We had a good protocol with the court system. They ain’t let the kids off, or the parents, either. So it worked,” Price said.

Price said juvenile crime rates dropped dramatically after this program was started.

“If you know anything about law enforcement, when they start cooling off law enforcement to start backing off and say, well, we got it now,” Price said

Price admitted that what worked in the past may not work now for the current generation.

“They should take that program and revitalize it, and make it where it works for now. And get involved in it. Because if you have no crime, got any problems,” Price said. “Lubbock should do that right now, because it’s just too many kids is getting involved in too many hideous things.”

The Lubbock Police Department will have more details on its plan for combating juvenile crime at the next city council meeting.

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