SOUTH GATE : Curfew Breakers Face Crackdown

City police are launching a major crackdown on curfew violators in an effort to keep youths off the streets and out of trouble during the summer.

As part of the plan, officials said they will issue citations to parents of youths who repeatedly violate the city’s 10 p.m. curfew. Parents will be subject to possible fines and imprisonment.

Officials said the effort, which will include patrols assigned to conduct curfew sweeps, is directed at a growing number of minors who loiter or cruise in public places after dark, some engaging in such illegal activities as tagging, car thefts and drive-by shootings.

On weekend nights, dozens of minors often congregate near fast-food restaurants and on residential streets, generating complaints from store owners and residents, police said.

“There is a concern about who is out after hours destroying properties,” said Angel Colon, vice president of the Tweedy Mile Business Assn. “A couple of weeks ago, we had kids roaming the whole city and throwing rocks at store windows just for the fun of it.”

On a recent weekend, two teen-agers were shot to death after 10 p.m. in separate incidents believed to be gang-related. One person was shot in the 3700 block of Ardmore Avenue, the other in the 10600 block of Stanford Avenue.

The city has had a curfew ordinance for 64 years. It prohibits anyone 18 or younger from being out between 10 p.m. and sunrise without an adult or a reasonable excuse, such as working or running errands. Violators generally have been taken to the police station, then released to their parents. Repeat offenders occasionally received counseling.

The ordinance also provides penalties for parents of repeat offenders, but police said parents have not been cited.

Under the tougher policy, minors could receive citations requiring them to appear in the Juvenile Traffic Division of Norwalk Superior Court, where they would face a minimum fine of $50. Parents whose children are picked up more than once also would be cited and could face misdemeanor charges in South Gate Municipal Court, with a maximum fine of $500 and six months in jail.

“We cannot be baby-sitters for all the kids in this community,” said Capt. George Troxcil, who heads the patrol division. “We want the parents to realize that it is a significant problem and an issue that needs to be dealt with.”

Officials said two cars will be assigned curfew patrol between 10 p.m. and 3 a.m. at least two nights a week through September, and periodically after that. The first curfew sweep was scheduled for Saturday.

Police say that juvenile-related crimes, particularly graffiti, have increased in recent years, although crime statistics on juveniles are not maintained.

City officials note that as the popularity of tagging has grown, so has the amount of damage. City work crews painted over an area of more than 1.6 million square feet in 1991-92, the latest year for which figures are available. This compares to 632,000 square feet of graffiti four years earlier, a city official said.

In February, the city enacted a graffiti law that makes it illegal for anyone 18 and under to possess spray paint in public places, including parks, streets and alleys. The law holds parents liable for up to $10,000 in damage caused by their children.

Still, teen-agers say tagging and hanging out remain popular.

“Tagging is in. We battle to see who (can tag the most places),” said Norma, 17, who identified herself as a member of a tagging crew.