Poll: A Daytime Curfew for Kids and Teens?

If your child doesn’t stay in school, it could cost you.

That's the focus of a new ordinance under consideration by Contra Costa County officials that would enact a daytime curfew for minors throughout the county.

If the ordinance is approved as recommended by the Contra Costa District Attorney’s office, school-aged minors (under the age of 18) discovered in public places during regularly scheduled school hours would be cited for an infraction and potentially fined up to $500 for repeat offenders.

Parents who knowingly permit a minor to violate the curfew may also be cited for an infraction and subject to fines as well.

In April, the District Attorney’s office asked the Contra Costa Board of Supervisors' Public Protection Sub-Committee, co-chaired by supervisors Gayle Uilkema (Lafayette) and Federal Glover (Pittsburg), to consider enacting a school-hour curfew.

The county is considering the curfew to aid law enforcement in regulating juvenile activity during school hours in an effort to reduce juvenile crime and improve high school graduation rates.

Although eight cities in the county, including, most recently, Concord, have already enacted daytime curfews for minors, the countywide curfew is intended to allow law enforcement to have consistent enforcement powers throughout the county, including in the unincorporated areas, according to a recent report in the Contra Costa Times.

Proponents of the curfew say that while it could prove costly for individual families, it will ultimately benefit the larger community.

A school-hour curfew will help prevent juveniles from committing crimes or becoming victims of crime, they say.

According to a report from the District Attorney’s office, police in the county report that 60 percent of juvenile crime occurs between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. on weekdays.

The report also highlights the long-term cost savings and economic benefits to communities and the state by ensuring that kids stay in school.

“A 10 percent increase in graduation rates would lead to a 20 percent reduction in murder and assaults,” says the report.

While curfews have proved statistically successful around the state in reducing crime and improving graduation rates, curfews do not sit well with everyone. 

When Concord considered the curfew ordinance that was ultimately enacted at the end of August (and which serves as the model for the proposedcountywide ordinance), opponents expressed  that people would be unfairly targeted and burdened.

While proponents say the high fines will provide a powerful incentive to keep kids in school, some feel that approach would unfairly target families that are already struggling and vulnerable and cannot afford the fines.

Parent who homeschool their children also expressed concerns about potential negative encounters with law enforcement, especially for their unescorted children of driving age.

The Times reports the ordinance is expected to be presented to the Board of Supervisors as early as January. According to supervisors Glover and Ulikema (who last week announced her at the end of her term in January), it will likely be approved.