La Habra OKs Youth Curfew in Day Hours

This city has become the first in Orange County to give preliminary approval to a daytime curfew for youths, which police and school officials hope to have in place throughout the county when students return to school this fall.

“I believe all the cities [in Orange County] will do it,” said La Habra Police Chief Steven H. Staveley.

The ordinance, aimed at combating truancy, would prohibit anyone under 18 who is supposed to be in school from loitering in streets, parks or other public areas from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. It would allow police to detain youths and impose fines up to $250.

The idea came from the county’s chiefs of police and school district superintendents and the county sheriff, who have met several times since February to discuss how to keep youngsters in school.

As a result of those sessions, the group asked the Orange County district attorney’s office to write a curfew ordinance to be presented to every city.

Next month, city officials throughout the county are expected to consider passing the law. School district officials said their school boards also will consider endorsing it.

To enforce the ordinance, Staveley said, police officers could call schools to find out if youths they detained were supposed to be in class. If so, the pupils either would be escorted back to school, given a citation or taken to the police station, where their parents would be called to pick them up.

A fine of up to $100 could be imposed on first-time offenders and up to $250 on third-time offenders. Other penalties could include court-ordered community service.

“The object is to say to the world that crime prevention demands that kids be in school so they can learn to be good citizens,” Staveley said.

Although many parents and community members approve, some high school students say a daytime curfew would be repressive.

“I don’t think it’s right,” said 16-year-old Vicky Ramirez of Anaheim. “I guess it’s good to keep kids in school, but it’s sort of like you can’t even be free to walk on the street in the daytime anymore. A lot of kids aren’t going to like this.”

But school officials say the goal of the curfew is to help kids resist peer pressure to ditch school.

“We don’t see it as a punitive measure at all,” said Capistrano Unified School District Supt. James A. Fleming, who was president of the Orange County Superintendents Assn. until this week. “I have confidence that the police will not be capricious in the enforcement of this thing. . . . We see it as providing a tool for that small number of young persons who need to resist the peer pressure to skip school. Because, usually, when they skip school, they’re engaging in activity that is unproductive and unhealthy.”

Charles Brobeck, Irvine police chief and president of the Orange County Police and Sheriffs Assn., added, “We’re moving collectively as educators and public safety [officials] in providing a safety net for the youngsters who attend school in this county.

“We’re seeing a rise in juvenile violence, and we’re seeing more and more younger people involved in criminal activity,” he said. “We decided to work in a proactive way rather than a reactive way to try to get our hands around this problem.”

La Habra City Council members are expected to give final approval to the curfew next month.