San Juan adopts curfew law to curb juvenile crime

SAN JUAN - Law enforcement and city officials plan to implement a curfew law to curb juvenile crime in San Juan after a recent spike in criminal activity.

"The past couple of months we've seen a lot of crime involving teens," said San Juan police Chief Juan Gonzalez. "And most of our crime is committed during the night."

Under the new law, anyone 17 or younger must be accompanied by a parent or guardian from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. Sunday night through Thursday night.

On Friday and Saturday nights, they will be allowed to stay out until midnight.

Parents or guardians of first-time offenders will be fined $100. A second offense will cost the caretaker $250, and a third will cost $500.

The new law was created after police realized teenagers from surrounding cities were coming to San Juan to commit petty crimes here.

"They were doing anything from egging cars to smashing mailboxes to shooting homes with BB guns," Gonzalez said. "A lot of it is from association with gangs, but others are just committing criminal mischief."

Cities like Alamo, Pharr and McAllen already have curfew laws in place, so teens often travel to San Juan, where they are free to wander unsupervised.

But that will change Aug. 10, when the new law is implemented. Gonzalez said parents are being given a 60-day grace period to familiarize themselves with the law.

"It's time to hold parents accountable," the chief said. "We want to control the streets a little bit more."