Parents May Have to Pay for Wayward Offspring : Curfew: Fines of up to $2,500 could be imposed under a measure to be considered by the Thousand Oaks City Council.

Parents of minors caught loafing on public streets late at night or during school hours could be fined up to $2,500 under a get-tough law to be considered tonight by the Thousand Oaks City Council.

The proposed ordinance, the first of its kind in Ventura County, is modeled after a law recently adopted by city officials in Monrovia, City Atty. Mark G. Sellers said. Most county cities have standard overnight curfew laws, but none allow authorities to recover the cost of dealing with wayward kids.

“We’re not looking to raise money or revenues,” Sellers said. “We’re using this as a tool to at least get the parents’ attention.”

The stricter curfew ordinance would give police another way to help control graffiti and gang activity by holding parents accountable for their children’s actions, he said. Penalties will probably not be imposed for first offenses, however.

“We are certainly going to have an obligation to notify the parents that we’ve got a problem,” Sellers said. “But if they fail to do anything after a violation or two, we will seek to recover the costs.”

An existing Thousand Oaks curfew law already prohibits minors from loitering between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., but the new ordinance would allow police to question youths who are out in public during school hours.

“Certain minors are out there as truants, not going to school, and this allows police to try to regulate their daytime activities,” Sellers said. “Officers will try to get these kids back in school, where they should be.”

State law now allows authorities to impose civil penalties of up to $25,000 if minors spray graffiti, damage property or cause injury to others.

But the Thousand Oaks law would go beyond those provisions, giving officials the ability to charge parents for the cost of detaining or transporting children in violation of the proposed curfew law.

“It’s going to involve some prosecutorial discretion,” Sellers said. “But if the parent totally ignores the problem and takes no steps to control their teen-ager, then we’re going to impose some sort of slap on the wrist.”

Mayor Jaime Zukowski said she supports the proposal and will probably vote to enact it tonight.

“It’s a tool that the police have said they need,” she said. “When there is a [curfew] problem, they don’t have adequate legislative tools to cite juveniles who are causing problems.”

The idea is welcomed by some parents and police officials in other Ventura County cities. But some parents contacted Monday said they are concerned about the potential fines.

“It’s a good idea, but I don’t want it,” said Linda Vollmer of Thousand Oaks, who has three children, ages 11, 12 and 13. “I don’t want the responsibility. It’s a lot of extra responsibility for the parents.”

Parent Joanne Mazin said that she would expect to pay the costs associated with her son’s violations--if he breaks the law when he gets older.

“I think it’s a wonderful idea,” said Mazin, whose son John is just 3. “Parents need to be held responsible for their children’s actions, especially if it’s past curfew.”

Simi Valley Police Lt. Tony Harper praised the Thousand Oaks plan and said he would pitch it to his superiors at the Simi Valley Police Department.

“It’s coming down to that as cities begin spending more time picking up these kids on curfew violations,” said Harper, noting that the current Simi Valley law only prohibits loitering between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.

“Cities are at the point now where they want to start recovering the cost of doing business,” he said. “It sounds very practical.”

Some teen-agers milling around the video arcade at The Oaks mall on Monday afternoon were not very excited about the prospect of being investigated during school hours.

“It would be a big hassle because you’d always be getting bothered by the police,” said Jared Arnold, a 15-year-old junior at the private Newbury Park Adventist Academy, which has a different schedule than most public schools.

Academy Student Body President Marcie Scranton said the proposal would inadvertently impose on innocent teen-agers. “Why should the good kids get punished for what other kids are doing?” the 17-year-old senior asked.