The Indianapolis City-County Council voted 21-2 Monday night to approve Proposal No. 99, moving juvenile curfew hours earlier in Marion County and reviving a tool the council first deployed last summer in response to youth gun violence.
Under the amended ordinance, juveniles ages 15 and 16 must be home by 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday — two hours earlier than the standard state curfew of 1 a.m. — and by 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday. Children under 15 cannot be in public after 9 p.m. on any night. The changes take effect immediately and will remain in place for 120 days, the maximum window allowed under the council’s enabling ordinance.
IMPD Chief Tanya Terry urged councilors to pass the measure, citing first-quarter 2026 figures showing juveniles made up a larger share of both homicide and non-fatal shooting victims compared with the same period last year. Terry pointed to a recent incident in which a 13-year-old was found at 1:30 a.m. armed with an AR-style pistol, riding with a 20-year-old who carried a handgun modified with a machine gun conversion device.
“Curfew is one tool. It is not the answer. It is not the end-all, be-all,” Terry told the council. She said arrest is “really our last option,” and that juveniles found in violation are taken to a Connection Center where parents can pick them up and families are linked to services. Curfew violations are status offenses and do not appear on permanent records.
Public Safety and Criminal Justice Committee Chair Leroy Robinson, who carried the proposal, framed it as one component of a broader strategy that includes Elevation Grants and partnerships with community organizations.
Councilors Jesse Brown and Rena Allen cast the two dissenting votes. Allen said she had supported a shorter 60-day window and pressed colleagues to bring youth voices into the conversation before passing further restrictions. “I urge my colleagues, please, let’s have a conversation with the youth and see what this looks like,” she said, adding that state-level firearm policy — particularly Indiana’s permitless carry law — also belongs in the discussion.
Outside the council chamber, Republican Marion County Prosecutor candidate Phillip Foust held a press availability backing the proposal and using it to draw a contrast with incumbent Prosecutor Ryan Mears. Foust called for “swift and severe consequences” earlier in juvenile criminal cases and said parents should also face accountability. Asked whether the curfew amounts to racial targeting, Foust called the suggestion “nonsense” and said the policy “is about protecting young people and protecting people from young people.”
Brandon Randall, founder of True Colors Consulting and a youth worker of more than 20 years, criticized the process after the vote. “It’s a band-aid approach,” Randall said, faulting city leaders for not convening listening sessions with young people before acting. He pointed to a pre-pandemic proposal for a Juvenile Justice Advisory Council and a recent youth-led peacekeepers initiative in Chicago as models Indianapolis has not pursued.
The amended hours are in effect through early September.
You can hear the council debate as well as Chief Terry, Marion County Prosecutor candidate Philip Foust and local activist Brandon Randall in the audio above.
