STANTON : Council to Consider Curfew for Youths

The City Council tonight will consider a curfew ordinance that would make it illegal for youths under 18 to “loiter” on public property between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.

Councilman Sal Sapien said the ordinance could curtail graffiti vandalism, known as tagging, and other illegal activity.

But City Atty. Thomas W. Allen said in his legal analysis that a curfew might face constitutional challenges and be difficult to enforce.

“The intention is to keep the kids off the street so they won’t be out there doing damage and tagging and so forth,” said Sapien. He praised a similar curfew ordinance in Rosemead, where he works as a high school administrator.

Sapien said he has spoken with many residents who are frustrated about crime committed by juveniles and would welcome a curfew. He would like to issue warnings to all curfew violators for a period of time before issuing citations, he said.

The proposed ordinance would bar youths under 18 from playing, wandering or strolling in parks, public buildings, streets, vacant lots and other areas.

Children with a parent or on an errand for a parent would not be violating the ordinance.

The ordinance also holds parents responsible for their children at night and forbids them to leave children under 14 years old unattended from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.

Councilman Harry M. Dotson said he doubts the curfew could be enforced without hiring more police officers. Dotson said he is also concerned about the legal challenges, especially if the ordinance is selectively enforced.

“I just think that it would run into constitutional problems,” Dotson said. “There’s no sense in putting an ordinance on the books that we can’t enforce.”

The ordinance calls for violators to be sent to Juvenile Court, where a judge would determine punishment. Dotson said he fears judges might not punish many offenders, which would weaken the ordinance.

The proposed Stanton ordinance is similar to a Santa Ana curfew that was passed in 1952.

Sgt. Art Echternacht, a Santa Ana police spokesman, said the curfew has been an ineffective tool.

“It has not helped a whole lot,” Echternacht said. “There are just so many kids out there. We just don’t have the manpower to enforce it across the board.”

Echternacht said Santa Ana youths who violate the curfew law are usually taken to police headquarters, and their parents are called to pick them up.

But Deputy Dist. Atty. Patti Nicholls said curfews are very effective against gang members and repeat juvenile offenders.

“It’s definitely helpful, especially for our gangsters,” Nicholls said. “We’ve got a reason to pop them and tell them to get off the streets.”

Nicholls said she has not seen any constitutional challenges to curfew laws.