The Greenlaw Community Center will no longer be used as a curfew center, Memphis Police Department Director Cerelyn “C.J.” Davis said during a community meeting Tuesday at the center.

The announcement was a reversal from previous statements from MPD, which indicated the center at 190 Mill Ave. would be used to house youth out past curfew. 

MPD to share Greenlaw Community Center with city parks department

“We completely went away from what we’ve been planning for the last several months,” Davis said. “This was intended so that we could serve young people, game changers or anybody else that wanted to have some type of activity and build relationships and community in conjunction with Parks and Recreation. This was never intended to be any type of detention center.”

When asked where youth out past curfew will be taken, Davis said the department does not have the capacity to enforce the rule.

“We don’t have the capacity to pick up children and take them where they need to go,” Davis said.

Youth out past curfew will be taken to their precinct, or their parents will be called to get them on site, said Allison Fouché, chief communications officer for the City of Memphis.

Officials decided against using the community center as a curfew center after hearing community feedback, Fouché said.

“We discussed it. And ... after hearing several of the complaints from the community, Mr. Henry Turley, folks in Uptown neighborhood leaders, they said that that’s not what we want to see in our community,” Fouché said. “It was determined that we will not do that.”

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On April 25, Davis told the Memphis City Council the facility would be used for kids out after curfew. But she said Tuesday that the city never planned to use the facility to hold kids violating curfew. 

The city’s 1996 juvenile curfew ordinance establishes curfew hours from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., Monday through Thursday, and midnight through 6 a.m., Friday through Sunday. 

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The announcement of the use of the community center for curfew enforcement came after the police department announced a Juvenile Crime Abatement Program. After meetings with various stakeholders, MPD revised it to a curfew enforcement program. 

Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland announced the revised curfew program on April 19.

“In recent years, we have not been able to enforce that law because Juvenile Court and County facilities will not take the juveniles detained for violations,” he said at the time. “Once we begin the pilot, we will take the juveniles to a city-owned facility, call their parents, wait for them to pick their child up, and cite them to Juvenile Court.

The community center will house programming hosted by MPD and the City of Memphis’ parks department.

The facility will be closed before curfew hours take effect, said spokesperson William Kaiser, a lieutenant with the police department.

MPD will continue to operate Greenlaw as community center

More information will be released to the media in the coming days, Kaiser said. The center will operate 9 a.m. until 8 p.m. unless special events are scheduled.

The next community meeting regarding the community center is June 13, said Memphis City Council member Michalyn Easter-Thomas, co-host of Tuesday’s community meeting.

“We’re going to ensure this is not a detention center,” Easter-Thomas said. 

Samuel Hardiman contributed to this report.