Substance abuse is absolutely an issue on Block Island.

Often times, these cases of drug and alcohol abuse begin during the teen years, so I can see why the Town Council would believe that a curfew law for minors would be a step in the right direction. However, I completely disagree with it. Firstly, why should minors be punished for being out past midnight if they're genuinely not doing anything wrong? It is inconsiderate to generalize a group by age and label it as being in danger, or as the danger itself. Also, I can be sure that if the town instates a curfew law, teens who tend to be unruly and danger-prone will simply move out of town and go to a different location where they won't be as easily found by police. On the other hand, they might just get all of their drinking and drug abuse done before 12- who knows. Sean McGarry states that this curfew would help parents parent, which is particularly unsettling. If it requires a government mandated curfew to catalyze a discussion between parent and child about the dangers about substance abuse, particularly on Block Island, then there's clearly a bigger problem here. The Town Council should focus on educating parents on why it is such a danger for their kids to be out past midnight, and advising them to set and enforce their own curfews. They should also advise parents to educate their kids on the dangers of drugs and alcohol, since it's becoming evident that it seems to be the crux of the problem that's being addressed in the first place. The police chief even mentions that it's just not safe for 15 or 16-year-olds to be out past midnight, so it only seems right that all sensible methods of protecting these adolescents be utilized. So why don't we just set an island curfew, where adults and minors alike are out of public sight and sent home by midnight, or maybe even eleven, to minimize all post-sunset perturbation? See how ridiculous that sounds, especially considering that the most trouble observed in this community has come from those over 18, as Kim Gaffett mentioned? Enforcing curfews is a poor investment of our law-enforcement resources when the true issue of substance abuse lies with those over 18, who endanger minors during all hours of the day.