New curfew penalties in Atlanta | Here's how it's going
What parents should know about Atlanta's curfew
It's been almost a year since two young people were shot and killed in the middle of the night at Atlantic Station. Months later, 16-year-old Bre'asia Powell died in the wee hours of the morning after a graduation party. That violence led Atlanta City Council members to reconsider the city's curfew, ultimately changing penalties from fines and possible jail time to mandatory parent workshops.
ATLANTA - Months after Atlanta city leaders made changes to missed curfew penalties because of a string of youth deaths, the city says it's not clear how that effort is going.
Last November, in the middle of the night at Atlantic Station, Kameron Jackson and Zyion Charles were shot and later died from youth gun violence. In May, Bre'Asia Powell died from a graduation party shooting. In June, leaders and law enforcement admitted the city's curfew wasn't enforced, so the council changed ramifications from fines and possible jail time to mandatory parent workshops.
FOX 5's Alex Whittler asked the city if any parents have had to attend those programs and how the educational classes have been received. Several departments including police and the city's municipal court said as of Friday, they don't know.
According to Atlanta police, in July, 78 people under 18 were arrested. There were 88 juvenile arrests in August and in September, there were 91.
Of those, six incidents ended in aggravated assault charges related to a person shot and two were homicides.
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Police data didn't show whether those arrests happened beyond the 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. on weeknights, and midnight to 6 a.m. weekend curfew hours.
"Gun violence is a result, I believe of unmet needs," Councilwoman Keisha Waites said. "It's a lack of affordable housing, a lack of access to resources."
While the efforts won't bring lost lives back, they could protect others from a similar fate.
Councilwoman Waites was a staunch champion for moving up to 9 p.m. The full council didn't approve that proposal. FOX5 asked if there could be any further efforts to change or restrict the current curfew and while Waites did not directly answer, she said she thinks the current plan is a step in the right direction.