City Government

Proposed Youth Curfew Fails for Lack of Support

Published

10 years ago

November 13, 2013

A proposal for a youth curfew in Oakland died this week at the city’s Public Safety Committee meeting in the face of opposition by City Council members and outraged hostility by young people and their supporters who filled the council chambers.

Brought to the Tuesday committee meeting by District 5 Councilmember Noel Gallo, the “Juvenile Protection Curfew Ordinance” was designed to help remedy the “victimization, exploitation and criminal activities that adversely impact youth in the City of Oakland.”

Gallo’s suggestion was to create a seven-day-a week, 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew and also would ban young people from being in public during school hours, 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. He emphasized he did not wish to to have young people arrested but instead called for 24-hour-a-day youth action centers where those detained would be taken for family and academic counseling and resources.

While Public Safety Committee members declined to send the proposal to the full council for a vote, the committee voted to hold hearings on how the city can help reduce truancy and support students.

Speaker after speaker argued that a curfew would violate young people’s rights, underscoring their tense relations with the Oakland police officers, which speakers said regularly harass, racially profile and arrest teenagers.

“There are lots of problems (in the schools), but a curfew is bigger problem. I don’t want someone to take our constitutional rights away from us,” said Andre Mouton, who has worked with young people in East Oakland schools,

“(Young people) will run, and these police shoot. They will treat them like meat. We don’t want one kid killed by a curfew law,” he said.

Some young people talked about their reasons for being out at night, including taking a bus home from work, or soccer games, as well as buying dinner for young siblings. An undocumented young man said the curfew could mean he would be picked up and deported.

A group of four teenagers performed a poem with the refrain, ““I’m here today to say that curfews do not reduce crime. They criminalize us in our day to day,” recited Pablo Paredes, Diana Bonilla, Michele Ramos and Daniel Ramos.

I’ve been kicked out of my house numerous times,” with the result that she is out of the house after 10 p.m., said Patricia Carter. “Should I go to jail because I don’t have good parents?”

Councilmember Libby Schaaf and Lynette McElhaney opposed the curfew, as did Councilmember Dan Kalb, who said he wanted police to devote their attention to high priority 911 calls.

“If they’re stopping a bunch of 16-year-olds hanging out a little later than normal … I don’t think that’s a good use of their time,” he said.

Police Chief Sean Whent opposed the curfew on grounds that it would be difficult to enforce and strain his already limited resources. “I think it would really impair our effectiveness and really impact our ability to do other stuff like violent crime prevention,” he said.

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Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

Published

10 hours ago

April 26, 2024

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Alameda County

DA Pamela Price Stands by Mom Who Lost Son to Gun Violence in Oakland

Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018.

Published

4 days ago

April 22, 2024

Oakland Post

District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones

Publisher’s note: Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018. The photo was too small for readers to see where the women were and what they were doing. Here we show Price and Jones as they complete a walk in memory of Scott. For more information and to contribute, please contact Carol Jones at 510-978-5517 at morefoundation.help@gmail.com. Courtesy photo.

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City Government

Vallejo Welcomes Interim City Manager Beverli Marshall

At Tuesday night’s Council meeting, the Vallejo City Council appointed Beverli Marshall as the interim city manager. Her tenure in the City Manager’s Office began today, Wednesday, April 10. Mayor Robert McConnell praised Marshall’s extensive background, noting her “wide breadth of experience in many areas that will assist the City and its citizens in understanding the complexity of the many issues that must be solved” in Vallejo.

Published

4 days ago

April 22, 2024

Oakland Post

Beverli Marshall began her first day with the City on April 10. ICMA image.

Special to The Post

At Tuesday night’s Council meeting, the Vallejo City Council appointed Beverli Marshall as the interim city manager. Her tenure in the City Manager’s Office began today, Wednesday, April 10.

Mayor Robert McConnell praised Marshall’s extensive background, noting her “wide breadth of experience in many areas that will assist the City and its citizens in understanding the complexity of the many issues that must be solved” in Vallejo.

Current City Manager Michael Malone, whose official departure is slated for April 18, expressed his well wishes. “I wish the City of Vallejo and Interim City Manager Marshall all the best in moving forward on the progress we’ve made to improve service to residents.” Malone expressed his hope that the staff and Council will work closely with ICM Marshall to “ensure success and prosperity for the City.”

According to the Vallejo Sun, Malone stepped into the role of interim city manager in 2021 and became permanent in 2022. Previously, Malone served as the city’s water director and decided to retire from city service e at the end of his contract which is April 18.

“I hope the excellent work of City staff will continue for years to come in Vallejo,” he said. “However, recent developments have led me to this decision to announce my retirement.”

When Malone was appointed, Vallejo was awash in scandals involving the housing division and the police department. A third of the city’s jobs went unfilled during most of his tenure, making for a rocky road for getting things done, the Vallejo Sun reported.

At last night’s council meeting, McConnell explained the selection process, highlighting the council’s confidence in achieving positive outcomes through a collaborative effort, and said this afternoon, “The Council is confident that by working closely together, positive results will be obtained.”

While the search for a permanent city manager is ongoing, an announcement is expected in the coming months.

On behalf of the City Council, Mayor McConnell extended gratitude to the staff, citizen groups, and recruitment firm.

“The Council wishes to thank the staff, the citizens’ group, and the recruitment firm for their diligent work and careful consideration for the selection of what is possibly the most important decision a Council can make on behalf of the betterment of our City,” McConnell said.

The Vallejo Sun contributed to this report.