Flint Enacts Special Events Curfew for Back to the Bricks Week

Flint Police Chief James Tolbert announced Monday that the newly enacted special events curfew will be in effect for the Back to the Bricks week of events. The curfew will be enacted beginning Tuesday and will extend until Sunday. The special event boundary for this curfew will be from 5th Avenue on the North to I-69 on the south and from Chavez Drive on the east to Church Street on the west.

The newly enacted curfew means unaccompanied minors under the age of 17 cannot be in the area after 6 p.m. and until 6 a.m. the following day. The curfew is set at the discretion of the police chief to "protect the health, safety and welfare of the public" and will include any area of the city which serves to facilitate special events. Tolbert has said in the past he "wants people to come to Flint to feel safe and secure in bringing their families to enjoy our special events. Unsupervised minors, especially in large groups, have been known to disrupt that security and create situations where visitors cannot enjoy themselves due to concerns over their safety."

Unaccompanied minors in violation of the curfew can be detained until they can be released to a parent or guardian. Also, parents and guardians could be fined $250 plus "the actual cost to the police department in arresting and detaining the minor" if they are found to be "in violation of their parental responsibility to exercise reasonable control and supervision."

There are some special exceptions to the rule such as minors attended by a parent or guardian or those with special permission to attend education or employment.