Pasco reviewing outdated, unenforceable juvenile curfew

Pasco officials may lift the ordinance that prohibits juveniles from being out on public streets and in city parks between midnight and 5 a.m.

The city’s juvenile curfew was enacted in 1994, at the height of gang warfare, graffiti and other crime.

However, Pasco no longer enforces the curfew, because case law over the years suggests such restrictions could be in violation of both the Washington state and U.S. constitutions.

City Attorney Leland Kerr said the issues are mostly with “vagueness” and one’s guaranteed right to privacy.

A person has to be adequately informed of what defines lawful and unlawful conduct, and a law enforcement officer must be able to distinguish the difference, so they will know when a juvenile is legitimately out of their home in the middle of the night, Kerr said.

Courts also have found that curfews are an unreasonable prohibition because they infringe upon a “minor’s fundamental freedom of movement and expression.”

The Pasco Municipal Code had made it a civil infraction for any juvenile “to knowingly remain, walk, run, stand, drive or ride about” in a public place or on the premises of an establishment during curfew hours.

When the ordinance was created, it was for the safety of juveniles and of other people and property, Kerr said.

Now, the benefits achieved from it don’t sufficiently justify the risk associated with enforcing it, he said.

“If it’s a rule that we have on the books that we are not enforcing, then it doesn’t belong on the books,” said Councilwoman Rebecca Francik. “Secondly, if it puts (the city) at risk because it is not defendable in court, I’m quite comfortable removing it.”

The curfew was designed to:

▪  Protect juveniles, residents and visitors from the dangers of crime which occurs on public streets and in parks during the late-night and early-morning hours.

▪  Decrease the amount of criminal activity engaged in by juveniles.

▪  Promote and enhance parental control over juveniles.

▪  Preserve the public safety and reduce acts of violence by or against juveniles “at rates beyond the capacity of the police to assure public safety without the aid of a juvenile curfew.”

It includes a long list of exceptions, such as being with a parent or responsible adult, running an errand for their parent, attending a supervised school or religious activity, and being married or an emancipated minor.

Deputy City Manager Stan Strebel told the council at its July 25 meeting that the proposed repeal is “largely a housekeeping measure suggested by our legal department.”

City Manager Dave Zabell added that he was surprised to see one of the signs posted in Pasco when he drove into town two years ago for his new job. He said a curfew was shot down in Marysville almost 20 years ago, in Yakima 10 years ago and in Fife about four years ago.

Councilman Bob Hoffmann said he has reservations about the proposal, and questioned if the city shouldn’t wait until after the general election in case the makeup of the Supreme Court changes.

“It just seems we’re kind of jumping the gun here to make a change that could be a creature of the times that maybe has some legitimacy,” Hoffmann said.

Mayor Matt Watkins said he shares Hoffmann’s concerns, but noted the city now has more tools at its disposal “that are targeted to troublemakers, and not just a class of sub-18-year-olds.”

Kerr agreed.

“Times have changed. Conditions have changed. We have an arsenal that has sufficient means to be able to address truly unlawful conduct, rather than using this (curfew ordinance), which is a very dubious tool,” he said.

Strebel said if the curfew is lifted, authorities instead will issue citations as appropriate for violations of the law.

Kerr added that repealing the curfew is not an irretrievable move. The city retains the authority to try again if it gets more direction from the state Supreme Court, he said.

The issue will be on the regular agenda for a vote at a future Pasco City Council meeting.

This story was originally published July 30, 2016 at 2:14 PM with the headline "Pasco reviewing outdated, unenforceable juvenile curfew."