Cincinnati is expanding its evening curfew for minors across the entire city, Mayor Aftab Pureval announced Wednesday.
Across the city, unaccompanied kids and teens under 18 will no longer be allowed in public spaces between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m.
A “Special Extended Curfew District” in Over-the-Rhine, Downtown and the Banks starts two hours earlier at 9 p.m.
“For too long, particularly Downtown, there have been large groups of unsupervised teens that are engaging in disorderly conduct, and we have to put a stop to that,” said Pureval during a Wednesday press briefing.
The city first implemented the curfew for minors in the Downtown-area neighborhoods last week following the viral Downtown brawl video that propelled Cincinnati into a national discourse about urban safety, which was fanned by far-right politicians and internet personalities.
The seven individuals under investigation for allegedly participating in the brawl are all adults. Pureval said the curfew is meant to reduce crime among and against Cincinnati’s youth.
“The point of this is to save kids,” Pureval said. “We want to prevent them from being victims of crime and we want to prevent having to create a criminal record on a kid that will follow them for the rest of their lives.”
Crime rates are a mixed bag across the city right now. Some neighborhoods have seen spikes in some crime categories and dips in others, but Pureval points out that robberies, which are up 60% in Downtown, are a uniquely teen issue.
“Poverty is the root cause of all of these challenges, but specifically the car break-ins and the property crimes is about guns. Period,” Pureval said.
He pointed to the effects of viral TikTok videos that showed kids how to break into Kias and Hyundais, a trend which started when he entered the mayor’s office.
“What we believe happened was those kids saw that a lot of these cars had guns in them, and oftentimes the guns were more valuable than actually just stealing the cars,” Pureval said. “So then it evolved from stealing Kias and Hyundais to all cars. […] If [teens] can’t find a car that’s open, that’s when they start breaking into multiple cars, specifically looking for guns, and that is part of the problem for why there’s so many illegal guns in our community.”
How the curfew will work
Pureval said the curfew enforcement will not include criminal charges. Minors found to be out past curfew will first be met with non-police personnel from the 311 department or “collaborative problem-solving adults and staff.” If minors do not go home, Pureval said police will come in and follow a hierarchy of “ask, tell, demand.”
If police have to force curfew compliance, minors will be transported to a curfew center such as Seven Hills Neighborhood Houses in the West End or Lighthouse Youth Services. This is where efforts to reconnect minors with their families will continue.
“I find it very challenging that we’re now in the position to have to enforce a curfew,” Pureval said. “All summer, [Theetge] and I have been talking about parental responsibility, we’ve been pleading and calling for adults in these kids’ lives to take a greater interest, to be more engaged, and unfortunately this has fell on deaf ears.”
There are some exceptions to the curfew rule, including kids who are participating in sanctioned after-school activities or going to and from work.
“Grace, particularly with children, is certainly something we’re prioritizing,” Pureval said.
The city-wide curfew will go into effect this weekend.
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This article appears in Aug 6-19, 2025.