CURFEW CUTS CRIME; BURGLARY, ROBBERY RATES DROP IN FOOTHILL DIVISION.

Byline: Phillip W. Browne Daily News Staff Writer

Keeping kids off the streets of the northeast San Fernando Valley through a nighttime curfew has helped drive down burglary and robbery rates there to the lowest citywide, police say.

The Los Angeles Police Department's Foothill Division hands out twice as many curfew citations as other divisions, and it was the only one with a decline in violent crime during the first three months of this year.

``It's a lot of juveniles who burglarize cars and instigate a lot of violent crimes on the streets,'' said Foothill Division Capt. Ken Garner. ``The curfews have really worked.''

The division's property crime rate fell by 25 percent, dramatically below other Valley divisions.

The Valley's top police officer, Deputy Chief Mike Bostic, said tough enforcement of the curfew wouldn't necessarily work as well elsewhere in the Valley.

``The ordinance doesn't work as much in places like North Hollywood where the crime patterns show it's more adults causing problems,'' Bostic said. ``I tell the division commanders to use whatever tools they can to reduce crime. The curfew isn't a cure-all issue.''

However, the numbers seem to tell a different story: Property crimes - which police say are largely caused by juveniles - are down only 4.5 percent in the North Hollywood Division and are up 1.3 percent in the Devonshire Division.

North Hollywood Division Capt. Rick Wahler said his officers enforced the curfew aggressively, and the juvenile-crime problem stopped, so now there is no need to continue regular patrols.

``It didn't make sense to have officers patrol areas where the problem had diminished,'' Wahler said. ``They continue to enforce the curfew on regular patrols, but we don't do any more special enforcements.''

Violent crime in North Hollywood increased 6.5 percent, caused by a surge in domestic violence, Wahler said. ``That's an area that has nothing to do with the curfew,'' he added.

In the Van Nuys Division, officers have focused on stemming school truancy rather than enforcing nighttime curfews, said Detective Craig Rhudy. At night, he said, officers are too busy with emergency calls to deal with curfew violators.

The property crime rate in Rhudy's division declined 8.4 percent, while violent crimes rose 13.2 percent.

``I think our crime rate would decline even further if we spent more time on the curfew,'' Wahler said. ``We might be starting an enforcement program soon.''

Studies agree

Criminologists insist that curfews work.

Nationwide studies show that when police enforce the curfew, crime drops, said Daniel Glaser, a University of Southern California professor who specializes in juvenile crime and crime prevention.

``There's more kids getting in trouble these days and, if police are there to send them home, there's no trouble,'' Glaser said.

Yet the Los Angeles ACLU questions whether curfew enforcement decreases crime, said Liz Schroeder, associate director of the Los Angeles chapter.

``It's easy to attribute crime drops to things like the curfew, but it's really jobs and the economy that play a big role,'' she said.

Sixteen-year-old Jaime Orosco, who likes to hang out in Hubert H. Humphrey Memorial Park, laments the fact that his park-loitering freedom slips away as the sun sets over Lake View Terrace.

``You can't go out at night without getting hassled anymore,'' said Orosco. ``I have some friends that got tickets. They're out like crazy. The cops just pick on us.''

Most curfews for minors have been upheld in state and federal courts, despite protests from parents, kids and civil rights groups that say the rules are discriminatory and don't include enough exceptions.

In the first U.S. Supreme Court action of its kind involving curfews, justices allowed police in Charlottesville, Va., to continue enforcing their ordinance despite claims the law deprived minors and their parents of their freedoms.

Curfew bias claimed

Schroeder also says there appear to be biases against minorities in areas where the curfew is enforced heavily.

``Generally we feel that curfew ordinances are enforced disproportionately in minority areas, like in the Foothill Division, instead of white areas,'' Schroeder said. ``The ordinances should be done in a way that they don't interfere with the rights of kids and they aren't used as an excuse to harass.''

That argument makes sense to Orosco's 19-year-old friend David Misa, even though he's of legal age.

``Sometimes we like to cruise around and just kick it, you know, on Friday and Saturday,'' Misa said. ``But the cops come and bug us, and it gets broken up. Some people won't even come out because they don't want to get hassled.

``I think the cops are being racist,'' he said.

Heavy enforcement has nothing to do with race, Garner said. It's about auto thefts, burglaries and gang violence attributed to the region's Pacoima gangsters - most of the crimes committed by juveniles.

``The curfew has been a great tool, especially at places like Humphrey Park where we were having serious gang problems,'' said Foothill gang Detective Bob Brophy. ``Since we vigorously started enforcing the curfew, the gang problem has dropped.''

Apart from the drop in property crimes, violent crimes fell by 3 percent while the rest of the Valley's divisions have increased.

Foothill Division has issued more than 3,600 citations since mid-1996 - almost double the amount written by other Valley divisions during the same time.

While the curfew ordinance has been on the books for many years, it didn't begin having an impact until 1996 when heavy enforcement began, said LAPD Juvenile Division Detective David Berglund.

The state changed the penal code in 1996, allowing officers to enforce the ordinance by handing out citations instead of taking kids in and getting wrapped up in delinquency court.

Every juvenile issued a citation must appear in traffic court, and penalties range from community service to between $250 and $675 in fines.

CURFEW RULES

Anyone under the age of 18 may not be present in public places between 10 p.m. and sunrise unless the minor is:

Accompanied by a parent or guardian.

Running an errand for parent or guardian.

Returning from a public meeting, movie, sporting event, dance or school function.

Going to or returning from work.

Involved in an emergency situation, such as a fire, natural disaster or auto crash.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Police Department.

CAPTION(S):

Box, Chart

Box: Curfew rules (see text)

Chart: Curfew on crime