Finley: Plan shaping to mute Detroit curfew

A last-minute push is underway to mute the impact of the curfew during the upcoming Detroit fireworks and River Days events by mobilizing the community to both help police the streets and find chaperones for children who want to come downtown for the festivities, but whose parents can't or won't get them there.

Recognizing that time is short — River Days start Saturday and the fireworks are the following Monday — Police Chief James Craig, who proposed the tightened four-day curfew, and NAACP Director Wendell Anthony, who opposes it, are meeting to come up with a strategy for making the crackdown unnecessary.

Neither is changing their position on the curfew, which will be discussed by City Council Tuesday.

"I'm telling you, if we do away with it, we will have problems," Craig said.

Anthony contends the everyday 10 p.m. curfew is sufficient.

But they are meeting again Monday with members of the business community and others with the hope of rallying the community to help avoid the mass arrests of teenagers that have marked the past two fireworks.

"As a community, let's pull together and bring downtown supervised groups of kids and let them enjoy the evening," Craig said at the Friday meeting, which I attended with other members of the media and foundation communities.

Anthony suggested mobilizing the Angel's Night volunteers who have successfully taken the fire out of Devil's Night to help maintain order and also supervise children who otherwise would run afoul of the curfew.

He also is calling on churches and community groups to join the effort, and hopes that business leaders that want to see a more inclusive Detroit will pitch in.

"I want young people to be able to come down here and enjoy this event," Anthony said.

The goal this year is to demonstrate the community is able to help make these events safe and peaceful. If the effort shows promise, Craig says he will consider recommending curtailing the curfew next year or scrapping it altogether.

"I'd like to really scale this thing down next year," he said.

The challenge then is to get enough volunteers and donations to make a difference this year. Since writing about this issue last Sunday, I've heard from ministers and other community leaders who want to get involved. The United Auto Workers is already sponsoring kids for the fireworks.

If Monday's meeting continues the progress that began Friday, the plan is to hold a press conference Monday to announce a strategy for getting the word out that volunteers and financial support are needed. The key will be enlisting 1,000 Angel's Night volunteers to show up in their orange vests and project the image that the riverfront is under watchful eyes.

Again, this is a lot to do in a little bit of time. But how much better would it be to stop fighting about the curfew and instead make it irrelevant?

nfinley@detroitnews.com

(313)222-2064

Follow Nolan Finley at detroitnews.com/finley, on Twitter at @nolanfinleydn.

Watch him at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays on "MiWeek" on Channel 56.