Curfew a tool in the fight against gangs
By Miguel Morales miguel@theacorn.com

Simi Valley's police officers are using the city's longstanding curfew ordinance to fight gang activity on local streets.

At a gang task force meeting June 6, Lt. Gregory Riegert of the Simi Valley Police Department said officers are using the law to identify teens who may be out at night and involved with one of the city's two documented street gangs.

"If we know who the kids making all the trouble are, then we can keep an eye on them," Riegert said. "If we see them throwing up (gang signs), we will stop them and use it as a way to get suspected teens on probation."

Simi's curfew restricts teens 17 and under to their homes from 10 p.m. until 6 a.m., seven days a week. The ordinance, which was passed in 1996, isn't anything new, Riegert said, but it's put to the test every summer when the parking lots of some local convenience stores and shopping centers transform into late-night hangouts.

"If there's no legitimate reason for a teen to be out past curfew, then the parents of that teen can expect a call from the police," Riegert said "Some parents don't know or don't care where their kids are or what they're up to, but this way they'll find out."

With the number of teens cited for curfew violations almost doubling in the summertime, parents are being asked to be more aware of their children's whereabouts, Riegert said. If a child is going to be out past 10 p.m., they need to have a plan to be picked up by someone before the police do it, he added.

"You won't see us driving around with the 'paddy wagon' picking up every kid on the street that's out past curfew," he said. "But we will stop and ask them what they're doing out past 10 p.m."