Nutter to kids: be home by 10

TWO POLICE officers on horses trotted down 15th Street last night and packs of as many as a dozen cops on bicycles rolled around Center City.

It was a show of force meant to let potential packs of marauding teenagers know that the city means business.

The officers will be out all weekend enforcing the city's curfew on young people, Mayor Nutter announced earlier in the day.

The moves come after violent teenage mobs attacked pedestrians on June 25 and July 30. Police will enforce a curfew that requires children under age 13 to be home by 10 p.m. and teenagers under 18 off the streets by midnight.

More police will be deployed to Center City and other "hot spots" as part of the mayor's "holistic strategy" to address violent teen mobs, Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Everett Gillison said. Police may ask youngsters for identification, Gillison added. If they are violating curfew, they will be taken home or to a police station.

Minors and parents who let their children violate the curfew will be penalized, Nutter said in a prepared statement. The maximum fine for staying out is $150.

"To the few who think they can get away with acting violently and disrespecting our city, you will be caught, and there are serious consequences," Nutter said.

Nutter also urged parents and guardians to be vigilant throughout the weekend.

"There is no excuse for young people to participate in coordinated, violent behavior if parents are doing their job," he added. "It's your responsibility, not the government's, to watch your kids."

Parents and community leaders who are part of the iPledge campaign will appear in hot spots around the city between 8 p.m. and midnight wearing "iPledge" T-shirts to prevent another flash mob.

The iPledge campaign, unveiled by Nutter in July, encourages residents to promote peace in their neighborhoods.