Mayor’s Statement on Weekend Safety

This past weekend the City implemented a number of precautionary safety strategies to keep youth and neighborhoods safe. We worked with our Excise Division and Streets Department to implement several activities around the City. We also worked with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department (SLMPD) to implement a temporary curfew of 10 p.m. in the areas where the majority of violence occurred the weekend prior (Downtown and Downtown West).

Prior to implementing, the City consulted with and received the support of the alderpersons representing those areas.

Twenty-three juveniles were detained downtown on Friday, March 20, with the youngest being 11 years old. No additional juveniles were detained Saturday or Sunday. Of the 23 juveniles detained, only 6 were City residents.

When the juveniles were detained, they were taken to a Reunification Center where they waited to be picked up by parents/guardians. While at the Reunification Center, the Office of Violence Prevention (OVP) and our funded partners provided meals/snacks, beverages, emotional support, and intake/counseling services. We are grateful to our OVP staff and partners, including Propel Kitchens, Diamond Diva Foundation, Covenant House, Youth in Need, Living with Purpose, MERS Goodwill, and Behavioral Health Response (BHR).

With no known instances of youth gun violence occurring this past weekend, my office and I consider the weekend efforts to have been a success. We also appreciate the opportunity to connect these 23 families with existing resources and support.

We will continue to prioritize public safety, especially that of our youth, and will work with our stakeholders to identify the best path forward.

The City will return to its standard curfew for youth of 11 p.m this evening.