Parents to Face Fines for Curfew Violations

An Orange County lawmaker’s bill requiring parents to pay a fine if their children repeatedly violate curfew laws was signed by Gov. Pete Wilson.

The measure by Assemblyman Tom Umberg (D-Garden Grove) is designed to allow cash-strapped local governments to recoup the administrative and transportation costs of returning a minor home after arrest. It also is aimed at fighting juvenile crime by making adults more accountable for the whereabouts of their children after hours.

“This bill sends a clear message to parents that they have a responsibility not just to their children, but to the community in which they live,” Umberg said Monday.

In recent years, many cities have enacted curfew laws, including Mission Viejo, Laguna Beach and Huntington Beach, but have had trouble enforcing them because of the time and number of officers required to arrest youths and drive them home. Instead, police have focused on more serious crimes.

Umberg’s measure is intended to make a dent in proliferating teen-age gang activity as well as the growing number of sexual and violent crimes against children by adults, Umberg said. Such crimes, Umberg said, “require that we take the steps necessary to get children off the streets and hold negligent parents responsible for keeping them off.”

Under the law, an initial violation requires that a parent or guardian be mailed a warning that they could be fined if their child is picked up again. The new law also allows governments to waive the charges if parents can prove they have made reasonable efforts to exercise control over the child, can demonstrate an inability to pay or if an adult chooses to perform community service in lieu of the fee.

Existing teen curfew laws in Orange County generally ban youngsters under 18 from unsupervised activities between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. or 6 a.m. Organized activities like football games, movies and theme parks are excluded from most curfews.

Of particular concern to authorities are public areas like malls, streets or beaches. Enforcement is usually discretionary, and officers have a choice of giving warnings or citations. First offense fines in Orange County, levied against the youths rather than the parents, range from $25 to $50.

While the amount of the fines under Umberg’s bill will be up to each city or county, the bill stresses that the fines must reflect the actual cost of the officer’s time and any other costs involved.

Umberg’s bill was supported by the Orange County Chiefs of Police and Sheriff’s Assn., the Orange County Gang Prevention Alliance, the Chief Probation Officers of California and the League of California Cities.

In a separate action, Wilson signed a bill from Sen. Marian Bergeson (R-Newport Beach) that increases the maximum prison sentence for domestic violence to five years and raises the maximum fine to $10,000.

It also increases the penalty for inflicting great bodily injury from three years to a maximum of five years and imposes a mandatory 30-day jail term for anyone who violates a restraining order twice within a year.