A version of the following article appeared in the Aug. 14, 2026, edition of The Charlotte Ledger, an e-newsletter with local business-y news and insights for Charlotte, N.C.

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CMPD recommends teen curfew to full City Council in response to ‘teen takeovers’

Photo by Wes Hicks on Unsplash

by Lindsey Banks

A Monday night Charlotte City Council meeting made national headlines this week on the topic of “teen takeovers” and the recommendation by Charlotte’s police chief to impose a citywide curfew for teens 17 and younger. 

Over the past few months, large gatherings of teens, typically at night and organized over social media, have taken over public spaces like Camp North End and Birkdale Village, some of which have resulted in serious crimes, like shootings. 

The city’s safety committee held a special meeting last month, while council was on summer break, to discuss the issue and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department’s proposal to permanently update the Youth Protection Ordinance. The committee unanimously voted to take the recommendations to full council, which happened Monday night: 

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Philip Poley3 months ago

I understand the intent of this, and take Chief Patterson at her word. That said, I have concerns with the proposal. First, 9 pm is too early and will come off to teens as overbearing. A 10 pm curfew seems more reasonable, with 11 pm on Friday and Saturday. Second, while current CMPD leaders say there is no interest in criminalizing teens or becoming the curfew police, once this is on the books, future CMPD leaders could take a different approach. At a time when masked federal agents are rounding people up without warrants, I don’t think we need to be broadening police authority. Lastly, Charlotte uses Flock cameras (another assault on our liberties). Given this advanced surveillance system, why do we also need a curfew?