Seeking to keep youths off the
streets and out of trouble this summer, Chicago police today announced fines of
up to $500 for parents or guardians whose children commit a crime after curfew
hours.
Police Supt. Philip Cline said the fines "put a little more teeth"
in the city's curfew ordinance. The law states that children under the age of 17
may not be out after 10:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday or after 11:30 p.m.
Fridays and Saturdays unless accompanied by a parent or guardian.
"Strong
curfew enforcement takes children who are potential victims out of harm's way,
steering them away from the influence of gangs, guns and drugs," Cline said at a
news conference at the Central District police station, 1718 S. State
St.
Cline said parents or guardians previously were fined only after
their child violated curfew three or more times in a 12-month period. Now, he
said, "if your child is involved in a crime after curfew hours, you're going to
get cited (after the first arrest)."
Police began implementing the
revised curfew policy last week, and already 33 parents whose children were
charged with a crime have been fined, Cline said. He was joined at the news
conference by Mayor Richard Daley, city department heads and church
leaders.
Fines can range from $50 to $500, and the parent may be subject
to an administrative hearing.
Each police district has begun assigning a
squad car to concentrate on enforcing the curfew, and those beat cars will also
work with midnight gang teams to keep young people off the streets late at
night, Cline said.
Also, police and park district officers will sweep
parks for curfew violators, with a focus on parks where crime has
increased.
So far this year, 12,171 curfew violations were issued,
compared to 11,000 over the same period in 2005, officials said.
"This is
the time of year when our young people start counting the days until the
beginning of summer vacation," said Daley, who vowed strict enforcement. "But
when it finally arrives, many of them are going to find themselves with too much
time on their hands and too little adult supervision. And that's a recipe for
trouble."
If a juvenile has three or more violations within a 12-month
period, detectives will investigate, Daley said. A student with five or more
violations in a year will be prohibited from taking driver's education in the
Chicago Public Schools.
Daley urged parents to enroll their children in
summer programs throughout the city, from activities in parks, schools and
libraries, to keep their children safe.
Asked how he would respond if
parents ask, "How dare you fine me for what my child did?" Daley replied, "Well,
how dare you allow your 14-year-old child out at 1 a.m.? Why should I have
police running out chasing for your children? It's causing taxpayers a large
amount of money. How dare you charge the taxpayer?"
Daley urged parents
seeking more information on city programs to call 311.
