With thousands of inebriated students and alcohol-related violence prevalent, Iowa City police are right to patrol the Pedestrian Mall and surrounding areas. But the relatively incipient, yet pernicious problem of youth violence on the Southeast Side also demands attention.

Although a curfew is not a preferable solution to juvenile crime, it would be a much more objective way to address increasing juvenile violence, because all minors would legally be required to stay off the streets after a certain time. A delinquency ordinance criminalizes certain behavior, such as blocking streets or intimidating residents. While a citywide curfew wouldn’t target specific groups and would provide objective rules, a delinquency ordinance would allow too much subjective authority and could lead to ethnic profiling.

Since the Aug. 5 shooting on the city’s Southeast Side, police have arrested eight Iowa City residents between the ages of 12 and 16 have been arrested and charged them with participating in a criminal gang and rioting. Reports of feuding youth gangs have surfaced as well.

Several citizens at last week’s City Council meeting supported a possible Iowa City curfew, hoping for citywide changes and a satellite police station in the southeastern area. If the council passes a curfew or delinquency ordinance, the ordinance must not leave gaps for subjective enforcement. It has to be narrowly tailored as to not infringe upon the freedom of minors.

Similar laws are already enforced in Coralville and North Liberty, and officers in Coralville have only issued one citation in the past two years. It’s possible that passing a similar ordinance in Iowa City could bring about the same results as last year’s smoking ban — myriad warnings, yet few citations.

“All communities struggle with crime and criminal behavior,” Councilor Amy Correia said. “We may need to employ new strategies for working in our community.”

Stipulations in Coralville’s long-standing curfew ordinance allow minors to stay out late because of religious, school, employment, or emergency circumstances. Officials report that the city’s ordinance will provide a general framework for an Iowa City proposal. Iowa City police Sgt. Troy Kelsay, who expects the city councilors to approve a curfew in some form, told The Daily Iowan an effective curfew would be one that worked closely with the juvenile-court system.

The question for Iowa City is, how difficult will it be to enforce such an ordinance? And will there be a stipulation to omit the many underage UI students — 161 as of last fall — from possible citations?

Center Director Sue Freeman assumes the City Council’s proposal will pass, and she thinks a curfew or ordinance will work if the community wants it to work.

“I believe the Southeast Side residents want to make change,” she said, but she noted that she doesn’t believe an ordinance will bring an ultimate end to the violence.

That much is true. No single action will change the entire actions of a community, especially if the ordinance may incite anger among those it targets.

What’s also true is that juvenile violence is a real problem and needs to be quelled both quickly and efficiently. If the past tells us anything, it’s that crime in Iowa City can spiral out of control in a hurry. The safety of Iowa City’s residents is of the utmost importance, but when the city councilors come up with a proposal in the coming weeks, they must carefully weigh their decision. Any action must provide benefits to society that greatly outweigh the cost of lost freedoms.