Teenagers who flock to Camp Creek Marketplace with their friends late at night must now be home by 9 p.m. after East Point city leaders voted Thursday to amend the curfew for minors.
The move comes after three teens — a 13-year-old and two 15-year-olds — were shot last weekend while hanging out at the popular shopping center, which has been the site of several shootings over the past six months. All three are expected to be OK.
The new curfew, which prohibits anyone younger than 18 from being on city streets between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m., took effect immediately following Thursday’s 6-2 vote.
Residents called in to speak both for and against the curfew during the special called meeting, which lasted more than 3 1/2 hours. The two council members who voted against the measure were Stephanie Gordon and Nanette Saucier.
Credit: City of East Point
Credit: City of East Point
Gordon called the citywide ordinance confusing, especially for teens and families who don’t live in East Point and may not be aware of the new curfew.
“It’s not only a matter of addressing our residents — people who live here, people who own businesses here. It also pertains to people who are visiting our city,” she said. “When we’re talking about the Camp Creek component of this, it’s a regional shopping district.”
Gordon said visiting families who stay at nearby hotels often venture out to the shopping district when they come to town, especially in the summer.
“They’re not going to have a clue as to what our policies are,” she said, “especially one that starts so early, that is so stringent. It’s utterly ridiculous.”
The city of East Point has had a curfew in place for minors since 1996. Previously, teens 16 and younger had to be home between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. from Sunday through Thursday, and 11 p.m. until 5 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. For those 17 and younger, the previous curfew was 11 p.m.
A group of Camp Creek Parkway business owners and property managers have taken the latest curfew restrictions even further, announcing Thursday that anyone younger than 18 will need to be accompanied by a parent or guardian after 7 p.m. Dubbed the Camp Creek “Youth Escort Policy,” the new rules take effect immediately and follow months of discussions between area business owners and community leaders from both East Point and Atlanta, the group said.
Those without a “supervising adult” that’s at least 21 years old will be asked to leave the retail district after 7 p.m. Having the escort policy go into effect ahead of the 9 p.m. curfew will give teens time to leave before being subject to harsher penalties.
East Point officials said they hope the curfew will stem large gatherings of “unsupervised maskless minors” who are not social distancing as the number of COVID-19 cases continues to rise. They also called out parents and guardians, urging them to take more responsibility for keeping their children safe.
Under the new ordinance, parents who allow their children to be out past curfew will receive a verbal warning on the first offense. After that, they are subject to a fine of up to $1,000 and up to 60 days in the East Point city jail.
East Point Mayor Deana Holiday Ingraham said there are regularly groups of more than 250 unsupervised teens gathered at Camp Creek Marketplace and the nearby AMC theater, which falls under the jurisdiction of Atlanta police.
“Safety will always be our top priority and it is more important now than ever during this global pandemic,” Ingraham said in a statement. “For this curfew to be effective, getting the word out and wide along with enforcement are critical to ensure that our youth are home safely or supervised during the curfew hours.”
East Point police plan to increase patrols at Camp Creek Marketplace in the wake of the latest shooting, Chief Tommy Gardner told council members.
“We will have a police presence, not just for this weekend at the Marketplace, but for several weeks,” he said. “As a police department, our plan is to make sure our kids are safe and our customers are safe.”
He said his department will collaborate with the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office as well as Atlanta, South Fulton and College Park police to reduce crime at the popular shopping destination. Atlanta police officers, however, will not be stopping teens or enforcing East Point’s curfew ordinance, a department spokesman said Friday.
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