The Hutto City Council unanimously approved the first reading of an ordinance April 5 that would enact curfew hours for minors within city limits.

Curfew hours would be Sun.–Thu. 11 p.m.–6 a.m. and Sat.–Sun. 12:01 a.m.–6 a.m. The curfew would also apply from 9 a.m.–2:30 p.m. on Hutto ISD school days.

Police Chief Peter Scheets said the curfew is meant to protect victims of possible crime and to deny delinquent youth the opportunity to commit offenses.

"From a police perspective, this ordinance is a tool for us to make contact and investigate further," he said. "Usually, if there's no criminal activity, the police are going to call mom or dad, and ask them to come pick up their son or daughter."

Curfews have to be renewed every three years or they expire per state law. Hutto initially established a curfew in 2005 and renewed it in 2008. Scheets said the curfew was not renewed in 2011, possibly because the city was undergoing a transition in the police chief position at that time.

Children under the age of 17 would not be allowed to be alone during curfew times in a public place or business unless they were exempt for some reason.

Exemptions for juveniles include being accompanied by a parent or guardian, if they are on an errand at the direction of a parent or guardian, if they are involved in interstate travel, if they have an emergency, if the activity relates to the juvenile's employment or if the child is in front of or on property adjacent to his or her home.

No one spoke during the public hearing for the proposed curfew. City Council approved the first reading of the curfew ordinance unanimously.

A second reading of the ordinance is required before it goes into effect.