Local News in Brief : Youth Curfew OKd in County Territory

Los Angeles County supervisors tentatively approved a revised ordinance Tuesday that would impose a 10 p.m. curfew on youths in the county’s unincorporated areas.

The board, in a unanimous vote without discussion, voted for a curfew ordinance that will replace an earlier law that had been considered unconstitutional after the state Court of Appeal last June struck down a similar ordinance in Long Beach.

The court ruled that the Long Beach law, like the Los Angeles ordinance, failed to provide provisions in which non-loitering minors may be allowed out after 10 p.m., including exceptions for youths participating in legitimate activities or waiting for parents.

The curfew, if given final approval next week, will affect people under 18 and authorities hope it will reduce incidents of gang violence. Last summer, the Los Angeles City Council modified a similar curfew law, and a pilot project aimed at dispersing loitering youths has resulted in some 300 youths being taken into custody for curfew violations. None were prosecuted, although some 30 were placed on informal probation, officials said.