Canton City Council gives police ability to cite parents of DORA juvenile curfew violators

CANTON – Starting today, parents can be cited if their child is caught attending Canton's First Friday or other downtown activity after 9 p.m. without permission.

With a 7-4 vote, Canton City Council on Monday approved allowing city officers to cite the parent or guardian of children who are found unaccompanied by an adult between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. in one of the city’s two designated outdoor refreshment areas. The DORAs are located in downtown Canton and at the Hall of Fame Village. Councilman Greg Hawk did not attend Monday's meeting.

Since council passed the resolution as an emergency, it took effect upon Mayor Thomas Bernabei’s signature on Monday night.

Under city law, parents could be charged with a minor misdemeanor for a first offense and a fourth-degree misdemeanor for subsequent violations of the juvenile curfew law. Canton’s citywide juvenile curfew, which council approved in May 2022, allows police to charge parents and youths under the age of 18 if the child is found in a public place between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. unless the child is accompanied by an adult or meets other limited circumstances.

Juveniles could be charged with unruliness in Stark County Family Court for violating either curfew.

Juvenile curfew law citations are for repeat offenders

Don’t expect police to start doling out citations to parents immediately.

Law Director Jason Reese has repeatedly emphasized that the citations will be reserved for the parents whose children repeatedly break the DORA juvenile curfew law and who choose not to cooperate with authorities to help their child comply.

He said most often police will take the youths home and advise the parents of the curfew laws first. After repeated violations, he said, police then would likely cite the juvenile because juvenile court officials can ensure the child and the family receive the resources they need, such as food vouchers or bus passes.

“This (citation ordinance) is for the parent who we’ve talked with who continuously chooses not to help us help their child,” Reese said.

At-large Councilman Louis Giavasis, who chairs council’s judiciary committee, said one reason he supported giving officers the ability to cite the parents whose child violates the DORA juvenile curfew is because the police requested it.

“We’re just trying to give the Police Department the tools that they need to protect everybody downtown,” said Giavasis, adding that several business owners have expressed support for the DORA juvenile curfew. “We have an obligation, not just to that child and their parent, we have an obligation to every individual who is in those DORA districts and every business that is operating in those DORA districts.”

Councilman Robert Fisher, D-Ward 5, fears that fining or charging parents due to the actions of their children may create a significant burden for families already struggling.

“It doesn’t make sense to fine people who may not be able to afford it,” he said.

He joined council members Chris Smith, D-Ward 4, Kevin Hall, D-Ward 6, and Frank Morris, D-Ward 9, in voting against the ordinance on Monday.

Smith, Hall and Morris have expressed concerns about the law penalizing parents and grandparents who may not be able to control their child’s activities, unfairly targeting Black children and it being enforced unevenly or not at all.

Reach Repository staff writer Kelli Weir at 330-580-8339 or [email protected].

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Canton lets police cite parents of juvenile curfew violators in doras