Juvenile

Children and families should be aware of the following laws and resources for Juveniles.

If you suspect a child is missing, call 911 immediately. There is no waiting period required before reporting a child missing. For more information, please visit the Missing Children Webpage.

PERTINENT CITY AND STATE LAWS

Curfews for Juveniles

Curfews for juveniles in the City of St. Louis are 12:00 A.M. to 5 A.M. on Friday and Saturday nights and 11 P.M. to 5 A.M. during the week. Some exceptions include:

  • The juvenile is accompanied by a parent/guardian or by a person over the age of 21 authorized by the parent.
  • The juvenile is on the sidewalk where the juvenile resides or next door to where the child resides provided they are not creating a problem for police.
  • When the juvenile is returning home from a school or city sponsored activity, religious activity or place of employment provided they are going directly home and it is within an hour of when the activity ended.

Truancy

Children between the ages of 7 and 16 must be in school. If a juvenile is caught “skipping” school, the juvenile may be charged with the “status” crime of truancy.

Minor in Possession (MIP) by Consumption

A law in Missouri, effective August 28th, 2005 states that if the police find you visibly intoxicated or you have a detectable Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) of .02 and you are under 21, they can charge you with “minor in possession (MIP) by consumption.” This means that even if you are not holding the alcohol container, but have consumed alcohol, you can be charged with an MIP.  A misdemeanor may be on your record for life if you are convicted or plead guilty. If you do have a misdemeanor on your record, you could be responsible for revealing this information on job applications and applications for many colleges and advanced degree programs such as medical school and law school.

The Department has several programs geared toward juveniles including the Police Athletic LeagueDo The Right Thing and the Police Explorers. For more information on these programs, visit the Community section of this website.

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