MANATEE COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — Manatee County Commissioners voted 6-1 Tuesday to approve a mandatory curfew for minors under the age of 17, a measure they hope will cut down on late-night crime.
Minors accounted for 519 calls for service so far this year, the majority of those after midnight, resulting in 378 arrests, according to the sheriff’s office. Many of those crimes included vehicle break-ins, vandalism, and more serious offenses.
“Since Covid, we’ve seen a lot of kids that didn’t necessarily get back into full-time school, didn’t get back into in-person school. It seems like parents don’t have as much control as they used to,” County Commissioner Amanda Ballard, who proposed the initiative, said. “So we’re really just trying to get a handle on that situation.”…