DEPARTMENT: Police
DEPARTMENT HEAD: William P. McManus, Chief of Police
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: Citywide
SUBJECT:
Re-adoption of Youth Curfew Ordinance
SUMMARY
Consideration of ordinance to re-adopt the Youth Curfew Ordinance which prohibits unsupervised youths ages 10-16 from public places during certain hours to minimize the likelihood of youths becoming victims of crime or participating in illegal activity that impacts quality of life.
BACKGROUND
On June 4, 2015, the re-adoption of the Youth Curfew Ordinance became effective. The curfew as mandated by Section 370.002 of the Texas Local Government Code requires that a municipality re-adopt the ordinance on every third anniversary of adoption for the purpose of reviewing its effectiveness and conducting public hearings to solicit community feedback.
Enforcement
Since 2015, there have been a total of 228 curfew violations as detailed in the table below.
Year
Night-time Violations
Day-time Violations
2015
106
11
2016
39
16
2017
32
24
TOTAL
177
51
It is important to note that all law enforcement agencies within Bexar County issue citations for youth curfew violations to include school district police departments. To provide context, in 2017, a total of 117 curfew citations were issued, of which SAPD accounted for 56 citations which represents 48% of all citations issued. The table below provides additional information on the agencies that issued curfew citations:
Agency
Citations Issued
San Antonio Police Department
56
Harlandale ISD
31
Edgewood ISD
17
South San ISD|1010|San Antonio Park Police |1010|TOTAL
117
The re-adoption of the youth curfew will continue to provide the SAPD, and area law enforcement agencies, with a valuable tool to:
* Reduce juvenile victimization
* Encourage regular school attendance
* Enhance parental supervision of children
Diversion Program
The Municipal Court offers a Class C Diversion Program for juveniles charged with non-traffic related Cla...
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