OFF THE STREETS

THE CITY HAS opened two more curfew centers that we hope will be as successful as the Dixon Curfew Center in Point Breeze.

But success will depend on the community.

Volunteer staffers are crucial to the operation of the centers, where police take juveniles picked up for curfew violations. The curfew crackdown is part of the city's Operation Safer Streets anti-violence program.

Last month, a stricter curfew law took effect. Kids under 13 must be in the house by 9 p.m. on weeknights during the school year, 9:30 p.m. on weeknights in the summer. Year-round curfew for weekends is 10 p.m.

The new centers are at the Lighthouse Youth Services Building, on Somerset Street near Waterloo, in West Kensington, and the Presbyterian Children's Village, on Chester Avenue near 65th Street, in Southwest Philadelphia, where extra cops have been redeployed - and where another murder occurred over the weekend. Eight more centers will open by the summer.

At the Dixon Center, 70 residents have volunteered. Crime in the area has dropped. Police have rounded up 864 kids who violated curfew. Where were their parents or guardians?

If you want to volunteer at a curfew center, call 215-683-5770. *