A California town has announced a nighttime curfew for kids and teens in the Central Valley in an effort to prevent wild incidents now that school’s out for summer following a string of crimes.
The Fresno Police Department said that starting on Thursday June 11, officers will be conducting a “summer crime suppression operation” intended to reduce dangerous traffic‑related offenses, prevent violent crime, and ensure that kids and teens have a safe summer.
The operation will run for two weeks and the department said it “will then reassess how long it will continue, or if it will be necessary for it to continue,” per police.
It will be enforced every night from 10:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. for kids under 18.
The curfew is being enforced in an effort to help keep kids safe during late‑night hours and help prevent teens and children from finding themselves in unsafe conditions, the police said.
Parents The Post spoke to had mixed reactions about it.
“I don’t agree with the curfew,” Ashley Woods, a Fresno mom of two with one teen under 18, said. “As long as my kids are doing well and not giving me a reason to be strict it’s not necessary.”
She said a curfew should be something parents are in charge of, while at the same time she “believes nothing good happens after midnight” for minors.
However, Adam Vasilovich, father of two, with a 19-year-old and 13-year-old son, said, “I think it’s a good idea.”
Vasilovich said he understands the purpose of it, but admitted he’s curious to see how it will be enforced.
“I hope that law enforcement is able to be subjective about this, too, and they don’t take it too far.”
There are a few exceptions to the rule which includes the following:
- If the minor is accompanied by his or her parent/guardian.
- If the minor is out during an emergency errand for their parent/guardian.
- Or if the minor is returning home after a meeting, entertainment, recreational activity.
“No person under the age of eighteen years shall loiter, idle, wander, stroll or play in or upon the public streets, highways, roads, alleys, parks, playgrounds or other public grounds, public places and public buildings, places of amusement and eating places, vacant lots or any unsupervised place between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m. of the following day,” the section of the curfew code read.
Fresno PD has also encouraged parents to speak with their child or teen about the curfew and making safe choices this summer, when the temperatures can be over 100 plus degrees even at 10 p.m.
“Officers that find teens in violation of their curfew and those that decide to enforce it, will reach out to the parents and ask the parents to pick up their teens, or return the teens home,” Fresno PD Sergeant Diana Trueba Vega told The Post.
“This is not an operation where our officers will be going to locations and picking up groups of teenagers for curfew violations.”
Vega said the department has plenty of officers for this operation, noting that some cops will be “uniformed, while others will be undercover and our community won’t even know they are there.”
Fresno PD said for the first violation, teens will be issued a warning citation. A second violation could result in fines being issued to parents for transportation and administrative costs.
While some kids were fine with it, not all of them are happy about the operation.
“I don’t think it’s right,” 16-year-old Elisea Allen told CBS47. “I mean we should be able to do what we want. It’s the summer.”
“We get maybe three months to do what we want and it’s gonna happen anyways.”
“Kids want to have fun. Let them have fun,” she added. “We’re just kids you’re going to take away the chance for kids to make memories.”
Commenters on social media posts about the curfew noted the importance of enforcing it at some of the popular hang outs in the city for kids following multiple violent crime incidents involving teens recently.
One person highlighted the popular PSA that ran in the 80’s on TV about teens being out late at night.
It asked viewers “It’s 10 p.m. Do you know where your children are?”
Another commenter questioned exactly how successful the operation was going to be and whether officers would be enforcing it.
“The only way this is going to work is the fact the police actually enforce it for one and they hold the parents responsible meaning the first time the kids are out past 10:00 the kids [get] or should I say the parents get a warning the second time they get a fine,” the person wrote.
The move comes after a 17-year-old boy was hospitalized after being stabbed in Fresno this week, according to ABC30. Investigators said the teen and his brother, who was found hiding in a nearby carport, have been uncooperative with authorities, leaving detectives with few details about what led to the attack. No arrests have been made as the investigation remains ongoing.
The nighttime curfew for kids under 18 in the city has been on the books for decades, but it has been updated and modified over the years.
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