HUNTINGTON BEACH : Police Will Enforce Downtown Curfew

The police, reacting to increased complaints about rowdy youths in the downtown area, will launch a curfew sweep Saturday night.

The action will enforce a city law that prohibits minors from loitering in public places between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m.

“It’s OK if a kid has been to a movie and is just walking home (after 10 p.m.),” said Lt. Charles Poe. “But if the kids are underage and just hanging around, our officers will take them in custody, hold them and summon their parents.”

Poe said the initial sweep of the downtown area will start at 10 p.m. Saturday. He said future sweeps will not be announced and could come either on weekdays or weekends. But Poe said most problems with nighttime juvenile delinquency in the downtown area have been on weekends.

“On many nights of the week, especially Friday and Saturday nights, hundreds of juveniles loiter on the sidewalks, blocking pedestrian traffic, causing disturbances and disrupting the local businesses,” Poe said. “The Police Department has received many complaints, from both residents and business owners, regarding the behavior of some of these juveniles.”

Poe said that youths who are detained by police during curfew sweeps most likely will be taken to the city’s downtown substation. “We can’t put these young people in the jail,” he noted. Poe said those apprehended would be released to their parents.