Pittsburgh Police Chief Nate Harper announced last week that officers would begin searching for juveniles who are out past the city's curfew, focusing on neighborhoods that have seen a recent surge in gun violence, including Oakland and Mount Washington.

But there's a hitch in his plan -- police have nowhere to take juveniles if they find them. Because of budget cuts, the city closed its youth curfew center in 2004.

"When you question or detain a child, then what? What do you do with that child?" said District Judge Gene Ricciardi, who helped toughen the city's curfew law when he was a City Council member and then unsuccessfully sought to reopen the center after its closing.

He warned that the city could face legal action if police drop off children at homes with abusive parents or guardians.

Allegheny County's Office of Children, Youth and Families has caseworkers who are on call overnight, and in emergencies the county can send children directly to foster care homes.

But a curfew center, with trained counselors on staff, is a critical part of enforcing the curfew, Judge Ricciardi said.

Chief Harper now hopes to reopen the center, according to police spokeswoman Diane Richard. She said the chief plans to meet with Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and other city officials about the issue.

In July and August, the city's curfew requires that those younger than 17 be off public streets by 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and by midnight on weekends (the curfew starts an hour earlier in other months).

Chief Harper's decision to emphasize the curfew comes in the wake of several shootings that involved young people. The most violent, on June 15, killed Raymond Reese, 15, on Pasadena Street in Mount Washington. Two other teenagers were injured.

Police have made no arrests in the case, but have expanded patrols in Mount Washington and in nearby Beltzhoover, Allentown and St. Clair Village.

There also are more patrols in Oakland, where two men, ages 21 and 22, were injured in an early-morning shooting after they left a McDonald's on Forbes Avenue.

There were no reports of major incidents in the neighborhoods with added police patrols last weekend. Nor were there reports of any curfew violations, Ms. Richard said.

The city's curfew law dates to 1995, and its original author was then-Councilman Joseph Cusick.

Seven years later, Judge Ricciardi won an expansion of the law that allowed police to detain youths without first giving them a warning.

The city's original curfew center was in the Public Safety Building, Downtown, which was bought by PNC Financial Services in 2002 and later demolished. The center then moved to the former West End police station, and was closed in 2004.

Critics pointed to its limited use. In the first five months of 2004, just 22 children were taken there.

Still, the following year, a collection of community groups, led by Lawrenceville United, pushed for the center's reopening, and Judge Ricciardi successfully inserted $250,000 into the city's budget.

But during his brief tenure, Mayor Bob O'Connor never used the money. And Mr. Ravenstahl hasn't addressed the issue.

"We're certainly pleased that Chief Harper is going to enforce the curfew," said Tony Ceoffe, executive director of Lawrenceville United, which is coordinating a series of youth programs this summer. "This separates the kids from the bad guys."

Yet he, too, expressed concerns about the curfew's implementation when there is no central location to take children.

Ms. Richard said the police primarily are using the curfew as a reason to approach juveniles who are on the streets late at night and encourage them to go home. They typically ask the youths about their family situations. If they find a youth who is "at risk," they would contact CYF.

There are few studies about the effectiveness of youth curfews, according to Alex Koroknay-Palicz, executive director of the National Youth Rights Association. His organization, based in Washington, D.C., describes the curfews as discrimination.

"They single out one group of people and place them under house arrest when they haven't done anything," he said.