SOUTHEASTERN, N.C. — Community curfews are in effect all around the southeastern region of the state, but are they enforceable?
According to Wilmington Police Department spokesperson Linda Thompson, they are if you refuse to comply with an officer’s warning.
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Refusing to comply
“If you refuse to comply, you can be physically arrested,” Thompson said. “We realize some people may not know about it.”
Wilmington is easing its evening curfew from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m., effective Wednesday, Thompson said. The curfew applies to all individuals, vehicles or businesses out in public past the allotted time frame before 6 a.m. the next morning.
With looting, power still out and sinkholes forming, Thompson said being out on the roads past dusk is not safe.
“They don’t need to be out on the street wandering around, it’s dangerous,” she said. For businesses that have begun opening their doors, Thompson asked owners and managers to be respectful of the curfew and give their customers enough time to travel safely home.
“If they want to be responsible, give people enough time to get home beyond the curfew,” she said.
Brunswick County Chairman Frank Williams said deputies with the Sheriff’s Office have been warning people seen out past 11 p.m. to stay off the roads. Being out past curfew can take up the time of first responders, Williams said, who need to focus on rescue efforts and other higher-priority issues.
Curfews announced so far
Check out the area’s daily curfews still in effect in the area:
New Hanover County – lifted
- Wilmington – Curfew lifted
- Carolina Beach – Curfew lifted
- Kure Beach – 8 p.m. to 6 a.m.
Pender County – 7 p.m. to 7 a.m.
- Burgaw – 7 p.m. to 7 a.m.
- Surf City – 7 p.m. to 7 a.m.
Brunswick Couty – Midnight to dawn
- Leland – 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.
- Sunset Beach – 11 p.m. to dawn
- Southport – Curfew lifted
- Caswell Beach – 9 p.m. to 6 a.m.
- Oak Island – Curfew lifted
Author’s note: Port City Daily will update this article with new curfew information as it becomes available.
Send tips and comments to Johanna Ferebee at johanna@localvoicemedia.com
