Newport Police Study for Curfew Test Friday

Although Newport Beach’s new 11 p.m. curfew ordinance became effective the moment the City Council approved it Monday night, police won’t enforce it until Friday.

Police Department spokesman Tom Little said police will wait until Friday night to enforce the law, which prohibits minors from loitering in public after 11 p.m., in order to provide officers ample training.

Little said 140 regular officers and 25 reservists are to begin receiving briefings today.

A training bulletin is being prepared for officers by the city attorney’s office explaining under what circumstances the curfew can be enforced and what procedures are to be used when taking juveniles into custody, he said.

Officers will be required to advise minors that a curfew is in effect and provide them a “reasonable time” to go home before detaining those who continue to loiter. Detainees would be held until parents or guardians pick them up.

One Warning

“Basically they’ll get one warning after 11 and, if they are still there, they can be taken into custody,” Little said.

The youths taken into temporary custody would not be transported or held either with adults or other juveniles arrested for criminal violations.

“We could possibly take as many as 100 into custody in a night and because they wouldn’t be held for a crime, they could be housed in the auditorium at the Police Department under light supervision,” Little said. “We would anticipate that once the arrests start . . . the kids would move out of the area.”

The ordinance is to be reviewed in 30 days to determine if the 11 p.m. curfew alleviates complaints of vandalism and juvenile mischief on the Balboa Peninsula.

Council member Evelyn R. Hart, who favored a 10 p.m. curfew but preferred the compromise 11 p.m. measure to none at all, said Tuesday that she will carefully monitor events on the peninsula over the next month.

Review Measure

“We’ll be reviewing it with the people (affected),” Hart said. “I think the ordinance itself and the message we’re giving is more important than the actual time of the curfew.”

“If the 11 p.m. curfew is not successful, the City Council could change it to 10 p.m.,” Little said. “Conversely, if it was successful and the kids were moving out at 11 p.m., the council could even adjust it to midnight. That’s always a possibility.”

Newport Beach had had a 10 p.m. curfew on the books since 1949, but it fell into disuse after 1978, when its constitutionality was questioned. The ordinance passed Monday exempts minors engaged in “constitutionally protected” activities.

Just two hours after the council passed the 11 p.m. curfew, two unidentified juveniles smashed a plate-glass window at a Balboa Peninsula shop early Tuesday.

Little said the 12:45 a.m. incident resulted in $300 damage to a clothing store at the corner of Main Street and Edgewater Avenue.