Youth curfew goes into effect for city of Newark tonight at 11 p.m.

A curfew for Newark’s youth will go into effect tonight at 11 p.m. The curfew impacts children age 17 and under and lasts until 5:30 a.m.

Officials say that the curfew will only be enforced on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays when school is still in session. It will expand to every day of the week on June 21 when the school year ends.

Officials say the goal is not for police officers to arrest kids who violate the curfew, but to keep them safe. They will bring the children back to their homes and get them off the streets if they are out past 11 p.m.

RELATED: Newark officials announce summer curfew for minors to go into effect May 3

Newark police are also working with the Office of Violence Prevention and Trauma Recovery in the event that a child’s home is not a safe place to be. If the child’s parent or guardian can’t be reached or the home isn’t safe for the child, then they’ll be taken to the re-engagement center and be provided with services accordingly.

The curfew is part of the Summer Safety Initiative, which also includes programs for children such as movie nights and pop-up play streets.

Tonight’s curfew will be a soft launch. Mayor Ras Baraka says he will revisit the program in 30 days to see if it needs to be adjusted in any way.