It was 45 minutes past midnight, and Scott Stanton, 16, walked back and forth outside an am/pm convenience store in downtown Federal Way. Scott was hanging out after going to the Puyallup Fair on a recent weeknight, looking for any way to get home to Auburn.
Soon, Scott and others like him could be breaking the law.
Federal Way city leaders say they will propose a curfew next month that would make it illegal for people under 18 to be out between midnight and 6 a.m., with certain exceptions.
They say they want to fight graffiti and other juvenile crime and protect young people by keeping them off the street at night.
If the City Council approves, Federal Way would likely be the first city in Washington to adopt a teen curfew since the state Supreme Court struck down Sumner’s version in 2003. The court ruled that Sumner’s ordinance was vague and infringed on juveniles’ constitutional liberties.
The idea of a curfew didn’t sit well with Scott as he embraced his girlfriend and looked for a ride home with his 20-year-old half-brother last week.
“As long as my stepmother says it’s OK for me to be out, the cops can’t tell me what to do,” said Scott, who said he’s not currently attending school.
His stepmother was at home taking care of her three daughters, he said.
“She knows where I’m at,” Scott said. “She knows I’m trying to get a ride.”
At a Denny’s restaurant a few blocks away, 36-year-old Roy Roberts voiced his support for a curfew. The Federal Way resident was eating breakfast before heading to his pre-dawn shift at an airplane parts manufacturer.
A curfew will protect young people, and it’s a good step if it makes teens more accountable for their whereabouts, said Roberts, who has a 4-year-old.
“A lot of parents who work at night don’t know where their kids are,” he said.
Federal Way is studying curfews in Tacoma and Auburn, which also run from midnight to 6 a.m. every day. Those cities define exceptions when teens can be out, such as running an errand for a parent, traveling for work, or for an emergency. Federal Way wants to include those exceptions, too, said city attorney Pat Richardson.
So far, neither Tacoma nor Auburn’s curfew has been challenged in court.
“We’re trying to draft it the best way we can to withstand a legal challenge,” Richardson said.
TACOMA RULE SUBJECT TO REVIEW
Tacoma is holding firm to its curfew, which the City Council adopted in 1995. It’s reviewed every two to three years, and so far it’s been extended each time.
The city’s curfew advisory panel is reviewing it once again and will make a recommendation Oct. 11, said Shelley Koeppen, panel facilitator.
Since 2003, the number of crimes committed by juveniles in Tacoma during curfew hours has held steady except for a dip in 2005, said Tacoma police spokesman Mark Fulghum.
The number of curfew violations and citations in Tacoma fell from 36 in 2003 to 17 in 2006, then to just one for the first half of 2007. Teens or their parents can be fined $125.
“It’s a good tool to curb some of the crime that happens at night,” Fulghum said.
In Auburn, Sgt. Scott Near said police haven’t cited anyone for a curfew violation since the rules were renewed in 2004.
“But it’s used often to contact subjects out at night and get them home,” Near said.
The curfew gives police more authority to ask juveniles questions at night and to identify themselves, Near said. That’s led to arrests for outstanding warrants or other crimes, he said.
Recent figures for juvenile crime at night were not available from Auburn or Federal Way.
POSSIBLE ENFORCEMENT COMPLICATIONS
Federal Way City Manager Neal Beets said the cities where he previously worked – Roseville, Minn., and Mesa, Ariz. – had juvenile curfews that worked well. They made sure children were either at home or attending supervised activities, rather than on the street at night.
“It’s a community-protection issue,” said Beets, who came to Federal Way a year ago. “I was surprised when I learned they were problematic here from a legal standpoint.”
Beets said he’s received five phone calls and e-mails from community members asking for a curfew.
In March, Beets expressed dismay about the circumstances of a 15-year-old boy arrested by Federal Way police for tagging, a form of graffiti. When police asked his mom what he was doing out at 4 a.m., she replied, “I just thought he was a night person,” Beets said.
“That’s outrageous,” he said.
Federal Way is developing a curfew proposal to go to a City Council committee on Oct. 9. One concern has already arisen: The city is researching where it could take violators who don’t have an adult responsible for supervising them, said Richardson, the city attorney.
Federal Way Police Chief Brian Wilson said he wants to make sure his department can meet the community’s expectations for a curfew. If the public wants all young violators to be taken into custody or taken home, then police will have to reassess how officers are used at night, Wilson said.
LEGAL PRECEDENT AGAINST CURFEWS
Washington courts have consistently ruled that juvenile curfew laws are unconstitutional, dating to 1967, according to the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington.
The ACLU represented Tom Walsh, the Sumner parent who challenged that city’s curfew. Walsh received a pair of $50 fines because his son Justin, then 14, was in a public place twice after the curfew began at 12:01 a.m.
Walsh maintained that his son met one of the curfew’s exemptions – running an errand – in the summer of 1999.
“Curfew laws make it a crime to be outside,” said Doug Honig, spokesman for the ACLU of Washington. “That’s why courts have shot them down.”
Curfews for Auburn and Tacoma have not been challenged in court, but Honig said that doesn’t mean his organization thinks they are constitutional.
He said the ACLU will be watching what Federal Way does.
“As long as somebody’s not committing a crime, the government shouldn’t interfere,” Honig said. “If there’s crime being committed, they should enforce laws against it.”
Paul Sullivan, of the Municipal Research & Services Center, said 63 cities in Washington had juvenile curfews when the center last completed a survey in 2001. He doesn’t know if any of those have been repealed since the Sumner decision.
“The more likely scenario is that they no longer enforce them,” Sullivan said.
Cities considering adding a curfew need to study court rulings striking down curfews to determine what they can and can’t do, he said.
“Just recognize you may need to defend it,” Sullivan said.
What: Proposed Federal Way juvenile curfew
Action: Review by the Parks, Recreation, Human Services & Public Safety Committee
When: 5:15 p.m. Oct. 9
Where: Hylebos Conference Room, City Hall, 33325 Eighth Ave. S., Federal Way
Next step: City Council might act Nov. 6.
More information: www.cityoffederalway.com, 253-835-7000
MORE VIEWS ON CURFEWS
The possibility of a curfew drew strong opinions on a school night at Federal Way’s major mall, the Commons at Federal Way.
Curtresha Brown said it’s needed to cut down on juvenile crime and protect youths from becoming victims.
“If they’re out on the street, they’re most likely doing something they’re not supposed to be doing,” said Brown, 32, who has three children, ages 8, 4 and 3. “It’s school time. Why are they out at that time of night?”
But Alex Wollaston, 17, said a curfew will put a damper on his social life, even during the week. The Federal Way High School senior said he’s often out visiting friends at their houses until 2 or 3 in the morning on school nights.
“It’s not going to stop (crime),” he said. “It’s still going to happen.”
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