Curfew law part of new Myrtle Beach ordinances

Thursday is day two of the fall Harley-Davidson motorcycle rally, and one place you will find a lot of motorcycles is on Ocean Boulevard in Myrtle Beach.
 
But Myrtle Beach police hope that in the future you will see fewer teenagers out on the boulevard early in the morning, thanks to a new law that reads in part, that teenagers under the age of 18 cannot be out from 1-6 a.m. without a valid reason.
 
The law does not go into effect until Dec. 21 but police chief Warren Gall said officers want people to know it is coming, and it will be enforced.

Gall said the minor or juvenile curfew law isn’t meant to just target teens during the bike weeks.  He said when teenagers are on the beach for senior week and spring break, some of them are not mature enough to make proper decisions and that leads to the police having to play the role of law enforcer and parent.

“Alcohol and drugs play a part in it, it kind of loosens their inhibitions and it makes their decision making really poor and then we have to deal with the aftermath, they have to deal with the aftermath and go home and have to deal with the aftermath and a lot of times as you can imagine it’s really not pretty,“ Gall said.

Gall said enforcing the curfew does not mean police will stop every young adult out after 1 a.m.  He said it will depend on the circumstances and if the police are responding to a complaint.