TULSA, Okla. — Tulsa City Councilors voted 7-1 to pass the proposed 9:00 p.m. curfew for kids under 18 in downtown Tulsa.

According to the City of Tulsa, the new curfew will take effect on Thursday at 9:00 p.m.

The curfew will then be in effect on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, starting at 9:00 p.m. and ending at 6:00 a.m., for any child under 18 who is not accompanied by a parent, guardian, or other responsible adult within the downtown Tulsa area.

There was a large amount of debate leading up to the council’s vote, with some councilors feeling they needed more time to decide and others stating the situation was an emergency and that action needed to be taken before more lives were lost.

“Right now, we have an emergency downtown of youth getting involved in activities that they shouldn’t be involved in,” said District 5 City Councilor Karen Gilbert at Wednesday morning’s City Council meeting.

The suggestion for the curfew came in response to multiple shootings that occurred in and around downtown over the last several weeks.

District 2 City Councilor Anthony Archie stated, “If you’re under 21, yes you shouldn’t be in a bar, but the message we need to send to these young people is all of Tulsa is for everyone.”

With the new curfew, councilors said they hope to mitigate underage crowds that have led to teen violence or teen victims of violence.

It will have exceptions for some events and if juveniles are inside a business.

Not everyone was convinced this curfew was foolproof or necessarily the right step forward.

“I am concerned because there’s going to be a lot of officer discretion involved,” said District 1 Councilor Vanessa Hall-Harper. “That’s a concern for me because I know what the data shows and I know in that discretion some children are going to be treated differently than others.”

Some of the main concerns raised by the councilors were: 

• Will some underage teenagers be treated differently due to race and gender?
• Will the curfew push the crime into other districts or towns?
• To what extent can TPD enforce the curfew?
• Will this deter visitors from downtown?

Tulsa Police Deputy Chief Mark Wollmershauser addressed some of the council’s concerns and explained every interaction between police and juveniles will be recorded on bodycam.

“What we want to do is be able to protect. If you have 10 juveniles, if we can get seven of them out of the environment earlier in the night, now we’ve definitely protected those seven. Now we can focus on those three that we will have to take more of an enforcement approach.”

Despite some of the councilors’ hesitation, the council voted 7-1 to amend the City’s curfew ordinance.

“One of the things that scares me more than anything is when these incidents, whether it’s a fight, argument or even a shooting, when these things take place, there are youth who, I believe, are not the instigators of the havoc being created,” said Councilor Hall-Harper.

District 3 Councilor Jackie Dutton was the one vote against, stating she was worried the curfew would focus too many officers downtown and leave other areas of Tulsa vulnerable.

Some downtown business owners who attended Wednesday evening’s City Council Meeting said they’ve seen a decrease in business after the recent violence.

Other groups said the curfew isn’t necessary and they believe the City should be helping the youth, not punishing them.

“We demand that you immediately abandon this purposed curfew,” said a representative from Padres Unidos de Tulsa. “It is not a solution and it will only inflict further harm on our community. Instead, Padres Unidos de Tulsa urges you to immediately connect with local, trusted organizations to implement initiatives that truly will make a difference.”

Downtown Tulsa Partnership CEO Brian Kurtz released the following statement about the new curfew:

“On behalf of Downtown Tulsa’s Partnership’s board and staff, I express my gratitude to Tulsa City Council for passing the emergency curfew ordinance at this evening’s council meeting. This is an interim safety measure—not a cure-all solution. It is intended to protect everyone—youth and adults—and to lessen the chance of violent interactions and incidents.

Assuring the safety of Downtown residents, workers and visitors requires many tools and actions, and this measure is one of many necessary strategies to improve conditions. That work will require continued collaboration among numerous individuals and groups, including government, business and philanthropy, and will include a combination of enforcement as well as non-enforcement strategies. That work has already begun.

I appreciate the collaboration of Councilors Gilbert, Hall-Harper, Bellis, and Lakin, as well as Mayor Nichols and his office, and Tulsa Police Department throughout the ideation of this proposal, and to all members for the dialogue that occurred today. We are stronger when we work together." 

The City of Tulsa has released answers to frequently asked questions about the new curfew. To learn more, click here.