Politics & Government
City Casts a Gimlet Eye at Idle, Loitering Teens
Concord council considers daytime extensions to its nighttime curfew.
The city of Concord is looking at extending the nighttime curfew ordinance by adding daytime curfew restrictions.
“Properly written, daytime curfew ordinances are a constitutionally valid, effective mechanism to increase community safety during hours when public schools are in session,” states a city staff report filed for Tuesday’s City Council meeting.
The council meets at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the council chambers at the Civic Center, 1950 Parkside Drive.
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A 2007 report by Concord police and planning staff “emphasized the linkage between truant downtown high school students and incidents of vandalism, thefts and fighting,” the current report states.
“The absence of a daytime curfew ordinance in the Municipal Code limits the CPD law enforcement role to the ‘detention and return to school’ functions,” the report goes on. “The schools are responsible for initiating disciplinary action (if any) against truants, and no police-initiated criminal sanctions (i.e.; fines) attach when a minor is detained in public for truancy.”
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The proposed ordinance would permit Concord police officers to detain truants and issue a warning citation upon the first offense, with parents required to sign and return the citation. The first subsequent offense would carry a $100 fine, the second one $200 and up to $500 for further offenses.
The staff report was prepared by Concord police Lt. David Hughes and Assistant City Attorney Mark S. Coon.
