Council Eases Night Curfew, Drops Daytime Plan

Concerned about court challenges in other cities, City Council members on Wednesday abandoned a plan to extend Camarillo’s curfew to daytime hours and tentatively scaled back the city’s nighttime curbs.

Since incorporation in 1964, Camarillo has prohibited minors from being on city streets from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.

After a state Supreme Court decision struck down San Diego’s curfew ordinance because it was too vague, Camarillo officials earlier this year decided to examine their own law to see if it was legally sound.

In the process of retooling the curfew, which was suspended for two months to allow the review, the city attorney proposed revising the law to cover school hours as well: 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on weekdays.

But the proposed extension drew opposition from council members and parents alike over the last month. Many said it would interfere with the rights of children who are on split school schedules, home schooled or simply look younger than they are.

On Wednesday, council members agreed to drop the idea of a daytime curfew and adopted a new nighttime curfew--less restrictive than the old law--with some reservations.

The new curfew, to be formally adopted at a future meeting, prohibits minors on the streets from midnight to 6 a.m. on weekend nights. Sunday through Thursday, the curfew will remain 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.

“I’m not pleased with it, but it is needed for the safety of our juveniles,” said Councilman Bill Liebmann.

Several parents attended Wednesday’s meeting to try to ensure that the council would not pass the daytime restrictions.

“The Constitution is a 24-hour doctrine, and I oppose any curfews,” said Anne Williams, the mother of a 7-year-old girl. “Voting for an ordinance that encroaches on our civil liberties is a mistake.”

Some parents who had opposed the proposed daytime curfew at a Sept. 25 meeting strongly criticized any curfew at all Wednesday.

“This ordinance presumes kids have done something wrong just because some group has decided they’re out at an inappropriate hour,” said Todd Terres, the stepfather of a 15-year-old boy. “It is for the parents to decide if it’s an inappropriate hour.”

However, Camarillo Police Chief Craig Husband emphasized the curfew’s role in improving public safety. “A curfew ordinance is very important in preventing juvenile crime and preventing juveniles from being victims of crimes,” he said.

Juvenile crime in the city has nearly doubled in the past four years, he added, with 20% of those crimes occurring between 10 p.m. and 4 a.m.

Although more than 70 California cities have instituted daytime curfews in the last several years, some of those cities are involved in lawsuits because parents have argued that such regulations violate their children’s constitutional rights.

The only city in Ventura County to have a daytime curfew is Thousand Oaks. However, officials say that the ordinance is only sparingly enforced and that it takes home schooling into account.