Local law enforcement gear up for curfew violators

With the arrival of summer break, authorities are warning parents that parish juvenile curfew ordinances are in effect.

For Lafourche and Terrebonne parish teens under age 17, a curfew is set year-round. In some areas, teens can stay out as late as 11 p.m.

Although many residents think that the curfew ordinance is only mandated during the school months, law enforcement officials said youth must adhere to the law for their own safety.

“As citizens of the City of Thibodaux, it’s our responsibility to help keep our children safe,” said Thibodaux Police Department spokesman Lt. Sam Pruitt.

Thibodaux’s curfew ordinance states that juveniles under age 17, not accompanied by a parent, are prohibited from loitering or wandering the streets or highways after certain hours of the night. Anyone caught can be arrested and issued a misdemeanor summons.

“I know some people may say, ‘If we are just going to make the children go home or issue them a summons then why bother. They are just going to come right back out,'” said Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office spokesman Larry Weidel.

However, Weidel warned that juveniles who continue to violate the ordinance will be dealt with by law enforcement officers. In the meantime, the ordinance sets boundaries for the parish’s young people, he said.

Violating the curfew could also mean penalties for parents in some cases. Parents can be arrested and issued a misdemeanor summons for improper supervision of a juvenile.

“We have to be held accountable for our children’s sake,” said Lt. Jude McElroy, chief of detectives with the Houma Police Department. “You can’t follow them around the clock, but you can establish that relationship where they will notify you as to what they are doing.”

In both parishes, an exception to the curfew rule allows teens with night jobs to be out if they are leaving work and heading home, officials say.

Authorities agree the ordinance is necessary to keep youngsters safe, but there is another benefit to

the law: It helps keep crime down. With more teens roaming the streets at night, it is not uncommon to see juvenile criminal activity rise in the summer months.

“The percentage of law breakers that are out and about during those wee morning hours increases slightly during the summer months,” McElroy said.

Juvenile delinquent crimes tend to include vandalism and petty theft offenses, he said.

“We don’t want our children to be involved or surrounded by those type of activities,” said Terrebonne Parish Sheriff-elect Vernon Bourgeois. “They need to be home where we can make sure that they’re safe.”

In order for law enforcement to monitor delinquent activities, summer roundups will be conducted to help keep children off the streets and out of trouble.

“If they know that a possible roundup will be conducted, they are less likely to stay out past curfew,” Weidel said. “You have a few of them that will disobey the curfew anyway, but a majority will abide by the law.”