With little opposition, Coplay Council members on Tuesday night discussed their idea to impose a curfew on juveniles.

While plenty in attendance agreed with the proposal, opposition came from Councilman William Leiner. The curfew discussed by council is based on a curfew plan in the Borough of Walnutport, Northampton County. Leiner contended after the meeting that he was told Walnutport’s curfew was seldom used. Councilman Charles Sodl offered the Walnutport ordinance as something that has stood the test of time and has not been challenged in the courts.

Coplay Police Chief Vincent Genovese emphasized the need for a curfew in his remarks. He gave statistical data that showed juvenile crime has jumped significantly this year, an increase to 15 incidents so far in 2015 up from eight in the prior year.

“We saw a decrease in crime and then this upswing,” Genovese said.

Prior to the start of the discussion, Denise Continenza, with Communities That Care (CTC), a government-sponsored advocacy group out of Penn State, addressed council about how the group aims to create a safe, vibrant community for youth. Part of CTC’s effort is to ask what kids think about certain topics, which may be indicative of how far society has drifted. In CTC’s statistics, 85 percent reported no marijuana use, 82 percent disapproved of their friends smoking and 37 percent of 10th-graders felt sad most days of the year. CTC advocates organized programs to keep juveniles occupied and contends those activities should be under a government, taxpayer-financed program.

According to Genovese, “We have nothing that allows us to stop and question groups of youth out late at night. Our only alternative is to arrest them, so we can ask questions.

“We want to help get these kids back to their parents to see what the problem is,” said Genovese. “We can better assess the social environment if we can get to see the home situation.”

Although social programs have good intentions, positive results are few, according to Sodl, adding there are no social workers out at 2 a.m.

“Tell me the value of being out at 2 in the morning,” he said.

Coplay residents Janet Eisenhauer and Anne Killeen expressed their concerns, primarily smaller crimes that violated their property. Eisenhauer reported personal items stolen or broken, while Killeen was concerned about being confronted at odd hours of the night by juveniles on her property.

Killeen suggested curfew start at 9 p.m., while Solicitor James Preston recommended midnight. The proposed ordinance starts curfew at 11 p.m.

“Some people have expressed their thoughts in emails that we are going to snatch their kids at 11 and throw them in jail,” said Genovese. “There are various reasons in the curfew that someone can be out later and those are identified. Our goal is to question why someone is out late at night.”

A concern voiced by another resident was a liability issue. If juveniles violate a property and get hurt, the resident said, lawyers have decided it is the homeowner’s problem. That decision raises a concern on how to prevent dangerous trespassing, which reinforces the need for a curfew.

Preston recommended a term of one year for the program.

“We should put a limit on it. If it isn’t working, then we can remove it,” he said.

The final draft of the measure will be presented at council’s regular meeting Sept. 8.