Las Vegas NowPolice Will Enforce Strict Curfew on the Strip

Police Will Enforce Strict Curfew on the Strip

When Las Vegas Boulevard shuts down for the New Year's Eve celebration, Metro police want parents to know that unattended children are not welcome.

A curfew will be imposed for the Las Vegas Strip starting at 6 p.m. December 31st and ending at 5 a.m. on January 1st.

Metro police will not bend on this rule. If you are under 18 years old you must be accompanied by an adult who is your parent or guardian. Metro has corrections busses they are ready to help round up teens breaking the curfew.

Community teen advocacy groups say the Las Vegas Strip is no place for teens. Erin Breen runs Safe Community Partnership.

"It's a huge adult party and teenagers don't belong at a huge adult party," said Breen. Her group focuses on teen safety, mainly when it comes to automobiles. She is also the parent of a teenager and knows what it's like to say no to her daughter.

"Sad to say when you are a teenager and you think there is nothing to do in Las Vegas and here you have this huge party and you are not allowed to go. Like everything else it's for their own good."

Metro Officer Barbara Morgan says police will not budge on the rules.

"There is drinking down there. There are a lot of people down there. It's crowded. There's no reason for a person under the age of 18 to be down there," Morgan said. She adds if she didn't have to work that night, she wouldn't be out at all because of the danger of drunk drivers.

Breen says, aside from New Year's Eve, she often has to remind parents that is always a curfew for children under the age of 18 when it comes to driving. Teens under 18 years old are not supposed to driving after 10 p.m.