Council Stalls Curfew Plan Backed by Mayor

In the latest tug of war over power at Los Angeles City Hall, the City Council on Wednesday threatened to block a new curfew enforcement plan backed by Mayor Richard J. Riordan and his Police Commission.

One day after the commission approved a pilot program for five neighborhoods, the council invoked its rarely used right to reconsider any decision made by the city’s 40 citizen commissions, which are appointed by the mayor. The matter will be considered today by the council’s committee on gangs.

Several lawmakers insisted that curfew enforcement should be the same citywide, citing concerns about racism, constitutional rights and the prospect of teenagers traveling to areas not targeted for special enforcement. But perhaps most important, council members agreed, was the chance for the full council to review the new policy.

“More than anything, this is a question of process. Certain council members were brought into the loop, but there has never been formal approval of the City Council,” said Laura Chick, who chairs the council’s Public Safety Committee.

“This is just proof of the pudding that we need to keep on improving communication,” she said.

Police Commission President Deirdre Hill agreed that “this is a lesson in how to better relationships, to bring more people in the loop and build consensus.”

But Commissioner Edith R. Perez, who is leading the curfew enforcement effort, and mayoral spokeswoman Noelia Rodriguez both lamented that council consideration will delay the new program.

“The charter says the Police Commission controls the Police Department, not the council,” Rodriguez said.

“It’s extremely unfortunate that this decision by the City Council is going to delay the implementation of this operational plan,” Perez said. “As a result, more children will become victims of crime, more children will be victims of drive-by shootings and more children will be recruited into gangs.”

The debate concerns enforcement of the city’s years-old curfew, which makes it illegal for people under 18 to loiter on streets after 10 p.m. The new program would have police officers bring curfew violators to the station, where their parents would be called to pick them up. The youngsters and their parents then would be referred to counseling.

To monitor its effectiveness, the commission directed the LAPD to launch twice-monthly sweeps in certain areas and simultaneously monitor whether there is a decrease in juvenile crime and child crime victims in those neighborhoods.

Though the commission tried to ward off criticism by soliciting input from the American Civil Liberties Union and by selecting divisions that represent the city’s geographic and racial diversity, council members worried Wednesday that the selective enforcement could trigger civil rights lawsuits.

“If you’re going to have enforcement, you’ve got to have it citywide,” said Councilman Nate Holden, who launched the move to invoke Proposition 5, the law that voters approved in 1991 giving the council the right to overturn any commission action.

“This is a good idea, not only for the areas that have been specified but throughout the city,” he said.