JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – Members of the Jackson City Council and Jackson Police Chief Joseph Wade talked about the curfew ordinance on Monday.

Officials said if a child under the age of 18 is caught being out after 10:00 p.m., he or she cannot be held in the juvenile detention center for a status offense.

“You put them down there with kids that are charged as adults, which means they have they have been charged with a crime with a gun. You’ll be put them in an environment of gang activity. You don’t want to introduce the status offense or a kid that’s doing low hanging fruit stuff to that you would indoctrinate them and graduate them to somewhere we do not want them to be,” said Wade.

The police chief said he will provide the City Council with the proposed cost to implement this division by the end of the week.

The curfew is expected to go into effect in February.