Prince Albert mayor weighs in on La Ronge curfew

A curfew is being enforced in La Ronge in response to a rising number of youth crimes in that community.

Since Friday, youth under the age of 18 have been required to be off the streets between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m.

Similar action has been considered in Prince Albert. However, Mayor Greg Dionne said curfews come with challenges of their own.

“Lots of times the kids we pick up, they’re better off not being delivered back home because of the circumstances there,” said Dionne.

He said the community is quick to call for a curfew when youth crime rates pick up, so it’s been something the city has been looking into over the last 10 years.

“At the end of the day, a curfew is only effective, first of all, if you can enforce it,” said Dionne, “and number two, where are you going to put them?”

For now, the mayor said he would be watching to see how the curfew works out in La Ronge.

“It will be an interesting model, and we’ll be watching it.”

– with files from Khang Nyguen and Nigel Maxwell