Police Gearing Up for Curfew Crackdown

One day after the Los Angeles City Council approved a stepped-up curfew enforcement plan, San Fernando Valley police officials prepared Thursday to launch the new program--but without more money or manpower.

While some police said their officers have long been hauling in teenagers hanging out unsupervised after 10 p.m., others complained that the new policy is long on politics and short on practicality.

Said one who declined to be identified: “How do you do this when you’re answering 12 to 15 radio calls a night?”

The Valley Bureau, which oversees five police stations, issued a bulletin Thursday to help area captains begin cracking down on curfew violators. While police must be more diligent about picking up teenagers, they also must comply with more bureaucracy.

Before they can actually begin enforcing the new version of the decades-old law, police must meet with community groups to determine interest in the program. Police also must identify social service agencies willing to be referred to violators’ parents for counseling. And police must report their activities to the City Council.

“You don’t just snap your fingers and make it happen,” said Lt. Don Hooper, an acting spokesman for the Valley Bureau. “We want to accomplish more than we have in the past. This is bigger and more ambitious.”

The curfew program was first proposed as a pilot project at five police stations, including the Valley’s Devonshire and Foothill stations. But the City Council, concerned that police might target areas that are heavily black and Latino, expanded the effort throughout the city.

And the council added new requirements to ensure that the police work hand in hand with community groups and politicians.

“Area commands shall seek the input of these community groups and determine if there is public support for an enhanced curfew enforcement program,” the bulletin says. “Area commands shall be particularly sensitive to any negative concerns voiced by community groups.”

The department also is requesting police officials to document their compliance with the new requirements in writing by July 19.

It was unclear exactly when the new beefed-up enforcement would actually begin. A police official had said it could begin within two weeks, but others said it probably would take longer to launch.

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At the Devonshire station, police already had mapped out their strategy to begin the program, but those plans are on hold pending the new requirements, said Capt. Bruce Crosley. Officers were going to run special task forces on busy evenings--such as Fridays and Saturdays--in specific neighborhoods.

“We won’t be stopping the 17-year-olds on their way home from the movies,” Crosley said. “It’s the 15-year-olds who might be loitering in areas where there have been problems.”

Overall, police said the curfew law has been enforced sporadically but it has always been available as a method of removing teenagers under 18 who might be causing trouble or who might be targets for crime.

“We use it as a tool,” said Capt. Richard Wahler, who oversees the North Hollywood station. “We haven’t made it a top priority . . . but our officers use it.”

At Foothill, officers have already cracked down on curfew violators as part of an effort to reduce street racing in the Pacoima area. Police have brought teenagers to the station and then called parents to retrieve them at all hours of the night, officers said.

The program approved Wednesday is similar, but parents also will be given names of agencies for counseling.

In addition, police stations must keep records of curfew violators so the department can track the effectiveness of the program.

But without additional cash for overtime pay, some police officials said special curfew patrols probably will depend on each station and its activity level.

“I think there will be enforcement at some level in all areas,” said Sgt. Bill Sutton, who works in the South Bureau and is involved in the curfew program. “How much they do . . . will have to be determined.”