Flin Flon imposes curfew on youth in bid to reduce vandalism

If you're a person under the age of 16 in Flin Flon, you now have to be home by sundown.

The northern Manitoba city of about 5,900, located about 630 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg, is enforcing a curfew for youth seven days a week.

City council passed a bylaw on July 4 that bans youth and kids under the age of 16 from public spaces after midnight on weekends and 10:30 p.m. CT on weeknights.

Flin Flon Mayor Cal Huntley said the city is imposing the restrictions due to a perceived rise in crime, which some community members attribute to young people. He views the ban as a measured approach.

"We believe there is some reality behind some of the concerns in the community, but we also believe that some of it is perceptual, so we don't want to overdo our reaction to it," Huntley said.

Thompson did it

Flin Flon is taking a page out of another northern Manitoba city's books.

Thompson experimented with a similar curfew for those 17 and under in 2005 in a bid to reduce vandalism. Rule-breakers caught in public past curfew risked a fine of $500.

Thompson's council repealed the ban in 2007 following a court challenge that argued the curfew violated charter rights of youth and children in the city of about 13,000.

Huntley played down concerns the new Flin Flon ban risks similar accusations of unfairness.

"I'm not going to get into what the personal rights are for children that are under the age of 16," Huntley said. "We believe 16 and under, there needs to be some proper guidance with regards to behaviour in public places.

"This is a proactive approach to manage a situation in our community — it's not to damage anybody or take away anybody's rights. It's just to manage the behaviour."

Flin Flon resident Carmen Ward, her husband and her mother all agreed the curfew is a good thing.

"Young kids are missing out on a lot of respect for adults lately," the 44-year-old said.

Ward has an eight-year-old and two teenage children, including her 15-year-old stepson, Michael Ward, who is "not really liking it."

"Sometimes you go over to your friend's house and come back at night. I can see that being a problem," Michael Ward said.

"But I definitely see that could probably help with the crime, because [most] of the crime happens after midnight." 

'Disappointing changes'

His mother was born in Flin Flon but returned to the community six years ago after a 20-year stint living in B.C. Carmen Ward said she arrived to "big changes in my little hometown — a lot of disappointing changes."

She and her neighbours have had vehicles, sheds and garages broken into, Ward says, and have installed security cameras and flood lights to deter vandals.

"We've got neighbourhood watch now, Citizens on Patrol driving around at night checking on things for us. These are all things we didn't need 20 or 30 years ago," she said.

"It's really disheartening to see things being ruined."

CBC News asked RCMP whether Flin Flon has experienced a surge in crime in recent years. An RCMP spokesperson said they were unable to immediately provide those details.