More on why Westminster is pursuing a youth curfew

The Westminster police have identified 40 children whom they suspect of portraying themselves as gang members, according to a posting on the city website. “Colors have been worn, and some symbolic ‘beatings’ for initiation into the gang have occurred. Both males and females have been identified.” The city council has given first reading to a youth curfew, with the final reading to take place June 11. In the meantime, according to the city, several kids have been banned from city parks and recreation programs for fighting and destroying city property. According to the city’s posting, ”The Police Department has sought to intervene with families of these youths, but have learned for the most part a lot of these youths do not have strong parental influences in their home. Some interaction has been met by denial. Many are being reared by older grand-parents.” Westminster believes the problem is solvable, however the police can’t be everywhere. The public is asked to be observant and to report suspicious activity. “A puzzling aspect of the problem is the random nature of the confrontations that have occurred over the past weeks. In some, but not all, the victims do not even know the juvenile who accosted or confronted them. Random simple assault, veiled social media threats against institutions and churches, and public ‘cursings’ have occurred,” according to the city posting.