By Daniela Julio-Cano, FOX23.com News Staff
TULSA, Okla. — Tulsa city leaders received a new update on the city’s downtown youth curfew, including new enforcement data and questions about what comes next for young people in the area.
Tulsa Police told the city council that officers made 33 curfew-related arrests between Jan. 1 and July 20 under the city’s downtown youth curfew ordinance.
According to the data, the youngest person arrested was 11-years-old. Police also arrested nine 16-year-olds and eight 17-year-olds during that time.
The majority of those arrests were male, with 26 males and five females recorded.
Police said the highest number of curfew arrests occurred near 600 East Archer Street where officers made nine arrests.
Another six arrests happened near 200 South Elgin Avenue, while four arrests each were reported near 100 North Elgin Avenue and 211 South Elgin Avenue.
“These are really young kids, a lot of them 11, 12, 13,” said Councilor Lori Decter Wright. “That’s young, super young, to be out mixing with people who are of age and partying.”
City leaders said the curfew is intended to reduce the number of unaccompanied minors downtown during late night hours, helping prevent them from becoming victims of crime and also allowing officers to focus on violent crime.
“Not having another group of children down there that could be innocent bystanders if there is a targeted active shooter or these fights or anything like that is how the ordinance helps us,” explained Tulsa Police Department Captain Shellie Seibert. “It frees us up so we can focus on gun interdiction, violent crime suppression and these fights.”
The downtown youth curfew took effect in June 2025.
It applies on Fridays and Saturdays from 9:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. for anyone younger than 18 who is downtown without a parent, guardian or other responsible adult.
The ordinance originally applied Thursday through Sunday before being narrowed to Fridays and Saturdays.
Councilor Decter Wright said enforcement should be paired with efforts to create more safe places for teenagers to gather.
“Teens, they want to socialize. They want to be together. There are not many places in the city where kids can go and be safe and it doesn’t cost money.”
Police pointed to examples like LegacyFest as an example of how designated youth spaces and peacekeepers can help keep young people safe while allowing officers to remain focused on violent crime.
Several councilors also asked for additional information, including data on curfew violations outside the Inner Dispersal Loop and updated statistics showing how gun violence downtown compares with last summer.
The city council is expected to review the downtown youth curfew again in October to determine whether the ordinance should be extended.
