Law Enforcement Brief:

The Valley County Sheriff’s Office reported that they had a rather uneventful four days at the Northeast Montana Fair. Sheriff Verne Buerkle told the Courier, “We were really glad to see the large crowds at the fair, and we had no major problems.” The Sheriff did say that a few “disturbances,” mostly fights, occurred and that there were a few missing children, but everything turned out in the end. The Sheriff also addressed the parking issue at the fair grounds stating, it was something his office was going to work on in the future.

The Glasgow Police Department has issued a public service announcement reminding parents that Glasgow has a youth curfew of 12:30 a.m. Prevention Specialist for the GPD Jennifer Fuller said in the announcement, “Teenage curfew is and has been a topic of angst and turmoil for most of us; a rite of passage, negotiation and hard-learned lessons in responsibility.”

Fuller stressed that the imposition of a curfew on youth is not necessarily in response to the potential for the young person to commit a crime, but the potential for them to be victimized is also a consideration. She cites the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration, “the frequency of fatal crashes with a drunk driving component increase almost four times during the night time hours.”

Fuller does not, however, ignore the potential of curfews to prevent crimes. She writes, “National arrest data suggests that being subjected to an enforced curfew reduces juvenile arrests within the curfew age range by approximately 10 percent within five years of initiation.”

Glasgow’s curfew for youth under 18 is 12:30 a.m. to 6:00 a.m., every day of the year. Exceptions to this include when a teen is accompanied by a parent or guardian, have a note from them providing permission, school-sponsored trips and approved community occasions.

Fuller closed the announcement writing, “The Glasgow Police Department would like to take this opportunity to remind each of our citizens that a strong and enforced youth curfew helps improve not only the safety of our entire community, but provides our teens a foundation in responsible behavior and social courtesy. As always, we are ‘Committed to Community.’”