A curfew in Starkville is now in affect for those under the age of 18

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI)- A curfew in Starkville is now in effect for people under the age of 18.

The curfew will run form 12 A.M. to 5 A.M. everyday for at least one year.

The Starkville Board of Alderman voted unanimously to enact the the mandate.

Starkville Police Chief Mark Ballard believes guns stolen in car burglaries, by juveniles, have been used to commit further crimes.

“All the constitutional protections are in this curfew” says Chief Ballard. “We are going to approach it the way we do every law. We are going to start with education first. So look for a lot of education about this curfew. We are going to then transition to wanting to get into enforcement.”

The unanimous votes comes after several juveniles being charged with violent crimes since the beginning of the year.