City of St. Louis Announces Actions to Protect Youth and Enhance Public Safety

The City of St. Louis is announcing several proactive public safety measures heading into the coming weekend to keep the City's residents and public spaces safe.

Earlier this week, City leaders began conversations about implementing a variety of precautionary measures. With input and guidance from the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department (SLMPD), the Board of Alderman, and stakeholders in the business community, the City will be implementing the following measures:

Behavioral Health Response providers will be available to complement law enforcement activities engaging juveniles. These providers are available through the Office of Violence Prevention, and can connect youth with appropriate services.

The Excise Division and Building Division are working with downtown stakeholders to enforce existing liquor and occupancy laws. This is both in relation to reported incidents over the weekend and also in preparation for any incidents that may happen this coming weekend.

The Streets Department is prepared to deploy traffic calming measures as may be needed in areas at risk of dangerous driving incidents.

The City will be implementing a short-term, targeted curfew for young people in parts of downtown to prevent recurrence of dangerous and violent behavior. This measure is a precautionary effort to ensure that St. Louisans stay safe.

The curfew applies to individuals age 17 and under in the Downtown and Downtown West areas. The start time each night is 10:00 p.m., and the end time is 5:00 a.m. the following morning. The curfew is in effect on the nights of Friday, March 20th; Saturday, March 21st; and Sunday, March 22nd.

During these hours, young people should not be out in the Downtown or Downtown West areas unless they meet certain exceptions. Specifically, young people may still be out during curfew hours if they are with with a parent or guardian, or with an adult (age 21 or older) approved by a parent; going directly home from work, school events, or religious or community activities (within one hour of the activity ending); or outside their own home or a next-door neighbor's home (as long as there are no concerns raised).

City officials will continue to monitor conditions and work closely with SLMPD and community partners to keep residents and visitors safe.