Curfew Mulled as Way to Stem Truancy, Crime

COSTA MESA —  Attempting to fight teen crime, boost school revenue and battle truancy, top law enforcement and school leaders are pushing for a countywide ordinance that would produce Orange County’s first daytime curfew.

Under the proposed law, which would greet Orange County’s youth this fall, police officers would be able to slap truants on the spot with what will likely be a minimum $50 fine if they are not in class during school hours. It would bypass a lengthy and rarely used state process for fining truants, and give police officers another option--to simply return offenders to school.

Authorities say they are targeting truancy because it contributes to crime and costs school districts hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in lost revenue. School districts receive state money based on their average daily attendance figures, which are lessened by truancy.

Officials say a countywide approach is necessary because truants do not always stay in their own backyard.

“[The countywide ordinance] would give us more teeth,” Irvine Police Chief Charles Brobeck said. “If [truants] come into Irvine, they’re going to be treated the same as in Santa Ana.”

Some civil libertarians say that by potentially restricting movement, a daytime curfew pits the right of children to freely associate against the need to keep them in school. Others fear that a daytime curfew could be another tool for overzealous officers to harass minorities.

“It’s just another vehicle to use as a guide for looking at people who are at risk [of joining gangs], or are suspected of being at risk,” said John Palacio, with the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund in Santa Ana. “It can be misused against anyone, in particular, minority youth.”

Another problem, acknowledged by curfew supporters, is the complexity of enforcing the ordinance when large numbers of students are legitimately out of school on any given day because of year-round schedules.

In passing a daytime curfew aimed at reducing truancy, Orange County would join a number of municipalities nationwide.

The Los Angeles City Council passed an ordinance last year making it unlawful for students younger than 18 to be off campus on school days between 8:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Under the law, city and school district police can cite truants, who face fines of up to $250.

Officials in Orange County say they have not finalized their model ordinance, but are studying those passed in Los Angeles and other areas.

In addition to fines, possible penalties being considered include community service and extra school days. Also, parents may be liable for the fines.

The idea for the daytime curfew came up during a breakfast meeting last month between the county’s top law enforcement and county Department of Education officials.

The meeting was called by the Orange County Chiefs’ and Sheriff’s Assn. to exchange ideas with the Orange County Superintendents Assn., said David Hartl, a USC instructor and organizational consultant to the chiefs association.

Now, the Gang Steering Committee of the chiefs association is drawing up a model ordinance to be passed by each city and the Orange County Board of Supervisors in time for the next school year.

The gang committee will present its findings at the next meeting of the police chiefs and the Orange County Superintendents Assn. on May 16. The coalition of law enforcement and educators plans to launch its countywide lobbying effort soon after.

The state Education Code already prohibits truancy, and offenders and their parents both face fines. In extreme cases, after counseling programs fail, juveniles can have their driving privileges revoked and parents can face jail time.

The reality, however, is that state law is no longer enforced to the fullest extent in Orange County, education officials say.

Virtually every school district in Orange County has a School Attendance Review Board, or SARB, which can petition the courts to levy punishment, such as fines, against intractable truants.

But education officials say they are required to work with the Probation Department to prosecute truants. The Probation Department, in turn, says that it is overwhelmed dealing with more serious juvenile crimes.

“Just a kid not going to school isn’t something that’s been handled here, mainly for a lack of resources,” said Orange County Probation Department spokesman Rod Speer.

“It doesn’t mean that [truancy] is not significant,” he added. “But we’re having to deal with kids who have actually committed criminal offenses.”

However, truancy itself is seen as a steppingstone to criminal activity.

Said Deputy Dist. Atty. Kim Menninger, who handles truancy cases: “I’ve never seen a gang member in Santa Ana who wasn’t a truant first.”

To prosecute parents of truants, a School Attendance Review Board can petition the courts directly. But officials say that has been prevented by bankruptcy-related cutbacks and administrative hurdles.

Menninger said prosecuting parents for their children’s truancy is difficult. For example, she said, many schools are not familiar with the type of documentation needed by the courts. Her solution: a specialized database for school districts.

Such a database was discussed at the February meeting. Officials said officers could quickly determine whether suspected truants are students who should be in school.

Two county cities, Orange and Garden Grove, have truancy centers that focus on counseling truants. Also, Santa Ana police and the Santa Ana Unified School District are discussing plans for a truancy center.

It is difficult to gauge whether truancy in Orange County is on the upswing. No single agency keeps such statistics, and many school districts say the information is not readily available.

But Hartl, the consultant to the chiefs association, said there was a feeling among officials at the February meeting that truancy was a rising problem.

“Everybody’s guessing,” he said, “but these guys are pretty good guessers.”